Nine is the Lucky Number
by Kintokun
Summary: Nine jinchuuriki from different backgrounds and different villages. Yet they all have the same problem. Most hate humanity since they've been betrayed by it. Either that or they've fought for acceptance. All of them however must band together to fight the forces of the Akatsuki as well as their own villages. The power of the tailed beasts resides within them and with it their fate.
1. Chapter 1

_This is a new story that I just felt like writing. It's not really anything special but I tried a different writing style then my previous stories. The rating might change to M as the story progresses, mostly because I'm paranoid. -Kintokun_

Bee's POV

Bee woke to the sound of humming. At first he thought he was at the Raikage's place, waking up to the sun in his face and the birds humming. Then he realized he was where he had fallen asleep the previous night. Hiding in the trees so that the search teams might have a harder time searching for him. His back was sore from resting against the hard surface of the tree trunks and his arms were almost completely covered with mosquito bites. He must've have made it to the Konohagakure by now, it was warm and sunny and green was the only color he saw. He jumped from his spot on the thick tree branch and landed on the hard ground.

_Where are we going now Bee?_ A voice inside his head said. Bee sighed and looked up at the sky. _Don't know don't care. I'll go anywhere. _Bee responded to Gyuki. The eight-tails was silent. Bee didn't care, all he wanted to do was clear his head and go as far as he could from his home. So he took out his notebook and began to write lyrics as he strolled through the dense forest, the bright sun on his back. There was the light pain that went through his body every time he walked, probably the wound he acquired from some Kumogakure ninja that had chased him around. _A is persistent,_ he thought. He remembered how much they'd been partners. They were two halves of a whole, inseparable. Even if fate, war, and hatred brought them apart they found some way to become one, brothers.

Bee realized he had stopped walking, lost in thought. But as silence spread throughout the forest he felt someone, something there with him. It wasn't Gyuki, something else. Bee moved as soon as the kunai was thrown. It landed a few inches away from where he had been standing. Then he felt something sharp lean against the back of his neck, threatening to pierce his skin.

"Don't move." The voice said. It was light and familiar. Undoubtedly a girl, the knife pierced his skin caused blood to trickle down his back. Bee gulped.

"Now turn." She said again, "Slowly."

Bee did as he was told he still acknowledged the knife was dangerously close to his neck. He took in the woman's features. She was shockingly beautiful like a rose with thorns. Her eyes were a piercing blue and he skin was pale. Her fair hair was in a sort of bob. She wore red arm guards a Kumogakure vest around her stomach and a short sleeved robe that went down to her thighs. It took a few seconds for Bee to realize who this woman really was.

"You too?" Bee asked, still confused. "Samui?"

"It doesn't matter who you were before this Bee. I follow the Raikage's orders only. Which means I have to kill you, now."

Fu's POV

She barely managed to avoid the next flaming kunai. Fu swopped downwards hard to avoid the kunai's that the village ninja were firing at her.

"Die you monster!" They shouted.

"You killed my son!"

"You deserve death!"

"Kill her!"

Fu didn't cry, she had expected this from the very beginning when she was chosen to have monster sealed inside her. _Don't worry, Fu. Everything will be alright. _Her mother had said. Fu wished she could have her mother here with her to help her get through this. Unfortunately she was dead. And Fu would be to unless she concentrated.

"Just get to the mountains." She whispered to herself. "Then you can relax."

Fu ascended to dodge the next kunai. This one was different though, she realized all too late. Her eyes locked on the paper attached to the kunai and then it exploded causing her to fly backwards, her wings out of their normal rhythm and struggling to keep her in the air. Fu hit the ground hard, the air was knocked out of her and she had a severe pounding in her head. The shouts nearby got closer until she realized that the village people were surrounding her. A man in a Taigakure vest approached her and grabbed her by her sea green hair, making her face the crowd. They had murderous looks on their faces.

"What do you say we do to her!?" The man that had held Fu asked the crowd.

"Make her suffer!" They shouted back. Fu tried to hold back the feeling of hopelessness and her tears. It took everything for her not to scream for help.

"I agree." The man said. He let go of Fu and began to kick her side. Other people joined in and let out angry gasps as they hurt Fu.

_Please God. Help me._ She prayed.

_Fu. _She heard a voice say in her head. She thought it was Him for a few seconds, then realized it was the beast inside her.

_I will help you. I can protect you. Give me control for a few minutes and I can save you from death. _The voice said again. Fu cried out as someone kicked her in the face.

Fu, desperate for the pain to end said to the beast, _Do it. _

And then everything went black.

Yagura's POV 

Yagura killed the last ninja with his hook, ending the long battle he had with more than fifty ninja. Yagura gasped trying to remember what he was doing before this had happened. His mind often did that now, memories were lost and he could never get them back, his life came back in flashes. His people had called him crazy, said he was being manipulated. It was all true, and now he had to find who was controlling him and get answers. All while he had to tear through the remainders of Gato's men who were trying to kill him after Zabuza had failed and died. Yagura had no idea who was in charge of Kirigakure but he didn't really care. He just wanted his life back.

Yagura stumbled, trying to remind himself of what he was doing as he found his way back to his camp nearby a stream of water. A deep fog hung in the air concealing everything that wasn't five feet in front of him but still he managed to find his way back. Yagura kneeled by the stream and washed his blood soaked face and hands with cold water. His small pack was sitting by the dying fire. He had to get moving. He knew he was getting closer to his controller and he couldn't stop now. He slung the backpack over his shoulder and continued to move north, down the river in a slight jog. He tried to remember everything. His parents, his childhood, everything. Yet the only thing he could remember was the voice of a man. _If you truly want to become Mizukage, you must kill. Mist is never pure, evil lurks as well as blood. To truly know this land, you must know bloodshed. _And then the images came. The hook staff that was strapped to his back was moving in the images, through bodies. Stabbing and slicing.

Yagura shook his head, trying to shake out the pictures but it was to no avail.

"I was a Mizukage. The fifth? No...third?" He asked himself. "Fourth. The fourth Mizukage of...Kiri...gakure."

"My name is Yagura, fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure." He said again. "Yagura."

_Don't forget me. I'm here you know. _Isobu, the three tailed turtle inside him said.

_I can't forget. I want to remember. _Yagura said back closing his eyes. _Why can't I remember? _

_He has corrupted your mind to much. He has made you done very bad things. _Isobu answered.

"Who?" Yagura asked aloud. "What did I do?"

Isobu was silent. Yagura began to cry. He sobbed quietly, walking through the dense mist. His memories, everything, they were shrouded in mist. And for Yagura, it was impossible for him to clear it.

Roshi's POV

"I don't understand. Why do you have to leave?" Hana asked.

"I feel something is about to happen. I can't stop it alone, I need help, and I only know eight other people that can help me face this new threat." Roshi answered as he shoved clothes and food into his duffel bag.

"But why _you_? Why not someone else!?" Hana questioned.

"Because of what's inside me. I don't mean to hurt you, Hana. But this is the only way I can protect you and Gohan." Roshi said putting his hands on Hana's shoulders.

Hana pulled him closer and leaned against him. Her tears falling down Roshi's leather chest guard. Roshi ran his hands through Hana's hair trying to comfort her.

"I'll be back soon." Roshi assured her.

"I'll wait as long as I have to." Hana replied. She let go of him and wiped her tears away. Roshi heard a cry from behind him and looked. It was only Gohan who was flailing and crying. Hana rushed to him and picked him up. Holding his delicate body close to hers.

"Hush, child." She whispered. The baby quieted and began to suck on his thumb. Roshi looked with sorrow, wishing he could see his son's face so peaceful every day. But he had to leave his home. He had to look for the people that had things inside of them. Or else he might never see his wife and son's beautiful faces again.

_~Thanks for reading this and I appreciate any sort of feedback. It doesn't matter to me really. I'll have other chapters up later today._


	2. Chapter 2

_ I'm going to upload three chapters today, this being the second one. Again, I appreciate any sort of feedback and please review and tell me what you like or don't like and all that. Thanks to whoever's reading this! ~Kintokun_

Yugito's POV

Yugito ran through the sewers that ran underneath Kumogakure. She could still hear the maniacal laugh of the gray-haired felon that was chasing Yugito. Blood was running down her broken arm where the creepy guy had grabbed her with his tentacles and squeezed. She stopped to catch her breath, despite being aware of her chasers being close behind her.

She started running again, this time on all fours trying to find a way out. She had never been in this place before and even with her heightened senses, the place was dark and had several entrances and exits. It was a labyrinth and she was caught in the middle. Yugito took a hard right and dashed across the filthy water trying to find a way out. Then she felt something slither around her leg and make her stop abruptly. She began to be dragged backwards until she saw the two men that were chasing her.

One was the gray-haired man that was dressed in a black coat with red clouds on it like his partner. In his hand was a scythe with a nylon rope connected to it. His smile didn't seem normal. His partner was more calm and collected. He wore a white hood and a black mask, he was tall and tanned with green eyes and what looked like stitches on his arms.

"You thought you could run away didn't you?" The gray-haired one asked. "Not everyone is that lucky."

"Let go of me you bastards!" Yugito snarled. She hissed.

"Bad kitty!" He complained. He slapped Yugito in the face. She looked him in the eye with murderous content.

"Hidan, control yourself." The tanned man said. His hold on Yugito was tighter and threatening.

"Oh come on. I already punished her. She won't make the same mistake again, right kitty?" Hidan teased.

"When I get out of this I'm going to kill you." Yugito threatened,

"Now that you say it, it wouldn't be that bad if you were on top of me." Hidan laughed.

"Hidan, enough." The tanned man said again.

_Now,_ Yugito thought. She let her nails extend and cut the strings that held her legs. She scrambled to her feet and began to dash forward faster than she had been before. She heard the footsteps behind her getting faster and closer so she sped up, taking lefts and rights to try and find an exit. Finally as she took a left, she saw light raining down from an hole that must've led to the outside. The ladder would normally have been out of reach, but she was different, she was as much of a cat as she was a human.

So she jumped.

And felt the sharp end of the scythe pierce her stomach.

Utakata's POV

"Ink Bubble Explosion!" Utakata shouted blowing black bubbles that exploded on contact. The hunter ninja staggered backwards and spread out trying to surround Utakata.

"Water Release, Soap Bubble Minefield." Utakata said sticking his bubble blower into the ground and blowing bubbles into the ground.

"Give up Jinchuuriki and we won't kill you!" The leader, Koene demanded.

"Leave me alone and I won't have to kill _you_." Utakata replied.

He then felt a sharp pain in his arm. He looked down realizing someone had shot a needle at him, it had cut his blue robe and left a cut in his arm.

"I'll make my men send a billion of those at you in five seconds unless you surrender." Koene said again, this time with a smirk on his face.

"Go ahead and try." Utakata retaliated.

Koene laughed. He lifted his hand, "Your funeral."

He brought it down and needles began to fly toward him from every direction. Utakata closed his eyes and concentrated on the bubbles in the earth. He let go of a deep breath and commanded the bubbles to raise from the ground. They did, forming a thick, acidic wall to protect him. He took his bubble blower and began to create a large sphere of soap and let it carry him into the air.

He watched as Koene began to shout commands at his men. Utakata then focused on the acid wall that had protected him and made them explode, spreading acid onto the men below him. He didn't want to think of how much it hurt. He looked up at the night sky as he floated away slowly. He hated them. The Men of the Bloody Mist had been hunting him day and night ever since he had escaped Kirigakure and gone rogue. He was tired of hatred and people. All he wanted to do was be alone with no one watching over him. He would never really be free. Not with a monster sealed inside of him.

He willed the bubble to slowly move toward the ground, away from the city nearby and in a hidden area that was surrounded by rocks. He touched the ground and the bubble popped. His bare feet was on the ground. he leaned against one of the rocks and let out a sigh.

"Hello?" He heard a voice say. Utakata tensed and looked around. His mind was on alert mode.

"I saw you float in from the sky. Who are you?" He heard the voice say again. He turned and his eyes locked on a girl that was standing a few feet away from him. She had blonde wavy hair that went passed her shoulders and a violet top with black shorts and a black skirt covering it. On her feet were black boots that dug into the ground. In her hands was a basket containing assorted foods.

"None of your business." Utakata answered.

"Are you that guy from Kirigakure? The missing ninja?" She asked again, taking a step backward.

"Leave. Now."

"Tell me, are you?"

"If you know what's good for you, you'll leave me alone."

The girl began to slowly make her way toward Utakata. She looked him in the eye and said, "You are. You're him. You did that thing with a bubbles in the forest and you burned those hunters."

Utakata was frozen. This girl could easily tell anyone who he was and where he was. The girl was too close for him to escape.

"What do I have to do to keep your mouth quiet?" He asked.

The girl smiled, "Teach me how to use ninjutsu."

"No."

"Then I'll tell everyone who you are and where you are. The hunters aren't that far behind you know. They'll find you."

Utakata gulped and took a deep breath, "Fine. I'll teach you ninjutsu. Only the basics."

"Good. I guess we have a deal then. By the way, I'm Hotaru your official new student."

Gaara's POV

Gaara rubbed his forehead, staring at the piles of paper on his desk. His eyes were sunken and had shadows around them. It was a lot more darker than he had remembered. His brother and sister sat near to him in the den, sitting by the fire.

"How's it going, Gaara?" Temari asked as she sipped from her glass of wine.

"You shouldn't be drinking that." Gaara said looking at her.

"Oh relax. I'm eighteen. It's legal." She said.

"You should really raise the drinking age Gaara. Maybe to forty-one?" Kankuro suggested.

"Right after I get through these piles of papers." Gaara said. He let out a sigh.

After being selected as Kazekage, he had to go through piles of papers every day, business contracts and treaties from other lands. Demands and reports of crime and other things going on. In the middle of that there were people who were reported wearing inappropriate clothing wandering near the palace. Taxes and bills and files and papers. He'd had a massive headache and only wanted to rest and gain his energy back.

"Hey, Kankuro, why don't you take some wine too?" Temari suggested. She already seemed a bit drunk.

"Why don't you put the drink down. Haven't you had enough?" Kankuro criticized.

Temari glared at her brother, "The cup's not empty yet."

Kankuro shook his head with disappointment and looked at Gaara, "So when do you think you'll be done?"

"I don't know. If I work hard enough I might finish before the end of next week." Gaara guessed.

"You've worked long and hard. Take a break. Maybe have a drink or two. Temari would approve." He offered.

Gaara smiled. He went to get up out of his seat as a fly buzzed in and set itself on his nose. Gaara paused to shoo the fly away but realized that this one was different. It was white, and it's eyes were hollow. It didn't make any sound.

He looked on as another fly came in through the hollow opening. More came in and surrounded him. Kankuro and Temari were sitting up now wondering what was going on. Gaara saw their eyes glint. And it was a mere five seconds that passed. Then the flies exploded. The entire top level of the Kazekage's tower exploded into nothingness. Bits of sand and furniture flew into the night air and rained down onto the sleeping sand village. Gaara floated on a piece of sand. His gourd was gone, he had laid it down on the ground next to him when he was working. He desperately searched for Kankuro and Temari but they were lost in the scattered sand. As the smoke cleared he saw a lone figure standing on top of a completely white owl. The eyes, like the fly, were hollow. Gaara squinted to try and see the figure. As they drew closer he noticed several things.

The man had blonde hair that was tied back into a pony tail. Part of it covered his left eye. He wore a black robe that had red clouds printed on it. Gaara saw a red-haired man behind him wearing the same clothing and a lazier expression.

"Who are you!?" Gaara questioned. He created a third eye and closed his right one in order to look for his siblings.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My entrance started off with a bit of a bang don't you say?" The blonde one said. "I'm Deidara of the Akatsuki. Nice to meet you."

_Akatsuki_. Gaara thought. The name was familiar. He remembered Naruto telling him a story once. Two men had came to capture him and take him to their hideout. Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. Both were dressed in the same robes.

"You, you're partnered with Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki right? You're in the same organization." Gaara confronted. Deidara's grim expression faded and was replaced with anger.

"Now we really need to capture you." Deidara said. He swiped his arm upwards and sent a wave of white birds his direction. Gaara flew upwards to avoid them but they followed. Gaara was still ascending when his third eye locked onto two figures that were hanging onto the ledge of the Kazekage's tower.

Gaara couldn't go after them. The birds might attack his siblings, then what? Gaara summoned a wave of sand along with his gourd. The wave of sand connected with the white birds and they exploded on contact. Then he turned around just as his gourd connected to his back was tightened by the rope that came with it. Gaara turned around and flew downwards, circling around the building until he spotted Kankuro and Temari, hanging on desperately to the railing of a balcony. He stopped right next to them and added more sand to his platform to carry them.

"What was that!?" Kankuro asked. He seemed pale and out of breath. Temari was sitting with her mouth wide open taking slow breaths.

"Deidara, a member of the Akatsuki. He makes animals out of something, paper maybe, they don't explode on contact. He makes them. With ninjutsu probably." Gaara explained.

"We'll try and help you the best we can." Kankuro said, taking out his scrolls that contained all three of his puppets. The man on the owl then appeared next to them.

"Oh, looks like you got some friends." Deidara acknowledged. "I do my best work with a handicap you know."

"Of course you'd need a handicap!" Kankuro insulted. Deidara frowned.

"Fine. Then you shall disappear in a flash of beauty! You should be honored. Not everyone gets to be a part of my art."

Gaara smiled, "That's because no one wants to be a part of your art. If you don't mind, you're trespassing in my home. And I've had a _very_ stressful day."


	3. Chapter 3

_ Hi, I hope you like this story, if you do give me some feedback, positive or negative I don't really care. I really enjoy writing this story so I hope you like reading it._

Han's POV

Han stomped as he made his way across the mountain. His eyes fixed on the path ahead of him. He was probably nearing the edge of the mountain, from their he'd have to jump. It was only when he was nearing to the edge and point of the mountain that he saw the lights. It was night and they flared bright like flames. There was a large figure in the distance, Han nearly thought he was daydreaming.

_Sister..._Kokuo said in his head.

_Sister? You have a sister? _Han asked in a state of confusion.

_Chomei, she's in the village. She's in pain. _Kokuo explained.

Han looked at the village with curiousity. He heard cries and a sort of buzzing that reached Han's ears from here. _Taigakure..._he thought. With a giant leap he went down the mountain, the air brushing his face quickly. He hit the ground causing a big dent to be created. He looked up. He had jumped about fifty feet downwards. _New record, _he thought with amusement. He began to run although the steam armor slowed him down somewhat. The cries from the village got louder and louder until the heat had reached Han's face. A woman ran into Han and took one look at him then screamed louder and ran around him. Dozens of people ran away from the destruction. Han looked on in amazement as amounts of water and fire hit the giant figure that was screeching loudly.

Han reached the entrance to the village covering his eyes as a shockwave threatened to blow him away. He looked up and saw what must have been the most incredible thing he had seen in his life. The beast was sort of flying with six large and scaled wings, at the end was a green tentacle that must have been a tail. Connected to the wings was a blue armored body that resembled a beetle. It was layered and had six twig-like arms. It seemed to have the helmet a knight would wear except the end was horned and sharp.

_Chomei! _Kokuo shouted within Han.

Han attempted to move closer but was blown back by another shockwave. Chomei was barely hovering above a circle of fire. The screeching was louder and made Han want to collapse. He looked around. Numerous dead bodies were laying on the ground, some of them were young and frail, some were old. Some were scorched to the point of being a burnt skeleton. Han had the urge to throw up but fought it down.

"Kill it! More fire!" Han heard someone shouting commands. He looked and saw a man pointing at Chomei and yelling with determination. They were going to kill the beast.

_Stop them...please. She's my sister._ Kokuo begged. Han had never really heard his partner say something like that. He felt a sort of determination rise and build up within his heart. He wanted to protect Chomei and help Kokuo. He would do that even if it killed him.

Naruto's POV 

Naruto got out of bed as he heard the doorbell ring. He looked at his clock. It was past twelve and the moon was shining through his window. He wondered if it might be Kakashi or Sakura coming to tell him terrible news. Like Sasuke's dead body was found in a ravine or that the Ichiraku Ramen Shop had closed down. he groggily rubbed his eyes and approached the door. He opened the door and saw who it was. Hinata was there holding a package in her hand. She was blushing.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"I was just...I needed to ask you something." She replied her eyes to the ground. Naruto sighed.

"What is it?"

"Do you think we're going to go to war?" She asked. Naruto looked at her long blue hair. She raised her head and looked him in the eyes. He saw a sort of sadness in her eyes. Usually it was a sort of emptyness of hopelessness he hated seeing.

Naruto, wondering how to answer the question said, "Not sure. Maybe. Sakura said that Danzo is going to the summit."

"But do _you _think we might go to war?"

"Probably. I mean if Danzo's in charge we definetly are going to war." Naruto joked.

Hinata smiled, "We'll have to fight in the war since we're considered adults."

"I guess that's true."

"We might you know...die. And then it'll be over. We'll be on the other side."

Naruto didn't respond. He didn't like to think about the war that often. He knew they were after him, the Nine Tails inside him and if they got him, the Akatsuki would be strong enough to destroy Konohagakure, maybe the whole world. Naruto took in a deep breath and replied, "Yeah..."

"Do you remember the fight with Pain?" Hinata asked. Naruto was confused for a few moments. Then he remembered the supposed "leader" of the Akatsuki that he had defeated. He nodded.

"Do you remember what I...what I said...to you?" She had her head down again.

Naruto scratched his head. Then he remembered Hinata's act of bravery and what she had said to him. Hinata lifted her head and hugged him. It was a simple act, but it wasn't something people did for him very often. He felt sort of awkward. His hands moving to surround her.

"I just wanted to let you know, just in case we don't see each other tomorrow. I just want you to know..." Hinata tried to say. Her voice was cracking.

Naruto felt sorrow flood through his body. He didn't know why but he just felt sad that Hinata and him wouldn't have any sort of future. That maybe these days were the last days he would have with her. Madara and the Akatsuki could attack anytime.

So he knew what he would do. He let go of Hinata and cupped her face with his hands. He pulled her in close taking moments to feel her soft skin, and look into her pale eyes, then he kissed her. Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck and her eyes closed.

"Come inside." Naruto whispered as he broke the kiss. Their forehead's against each other. Hinata didn't move.

"I won't touch you," Naruto assured her. Hinata smiled and realized she had a package in her hands. "Wait what is that?"

"Oh," She responded, her eyes gazing down to the rectangular box in her hands. "I just brought you some packaged ramen."

Utakata's POV

Hotaru led Utakata back to her house. It was a sort of complex that probably went around the hill in an entire square. _Probably a clan home, _Utakata thought as he saw the sign of the spider printed on many of the walls. There were four towers in a pagoda style at each end of the square. The roofs stuck out and looped upwards. Lanterns hang from the tower illuminating the center of the complex. There were benches and training dummies scattered across the floor.

"This is my home. It's probably not anything like yours but it's decent." Hotaru said.

_Decent, _Utakata thought with a smirk.

"Hotaru!" He heard a voice say. He looked ahead and saw an old man making his way toward us. He had wrinkles all over his face and was wearing a white kimono, tied with a golden sash. He took one look at Utakata and his eyes widened.

"You...you're the jinchuuriki! The one from the mist! How dare you step onto the premises. This is not where you belong!" The old man shouted.

"Grandfather please! You'll wake everyone up! He's not going to harm anyone." Hotaru reasoned.

"I don't care. He's an S-rank criminal and hunter packs are chasing him as we speak. He'll get us killed for god sake!"

Utakata sighed. It was like this with most people. He glared at the old man and Hotaru, wishing he could just leave instead of dealing with these despicable and ignorant people.

"Who will get "us" killed Gyoja?" He heard another voice intervene. It was a different man this time, younger but with a serious expression. His hair was tied back into a ponytail and he was wearing the same kimono with a black sash instead. Several others were behind him.

"This jinchuuriki, the one from the Land of Mist!" Gyoja answered hastily, he pulled Hotaru away.

"You're not Yagura. You must be Harusame's student. I've heard rumors about his passing." The man said.

Utakata flinched. He didn't want to be reminded of how his master had betrayed him and how he had died because of Utakata. His hand closed around his bubble blower.

The man turned to Hotaru, "You say this man will not harm us?"

"No, he only wants refuge for a few days time, then he will leave." Hotaru answered.

The man nodded and sent one of his men to take away Gyoja. The old man tried to resist but his frail body couldn't do much. Still he shouted several terrible names that people had developed for jinchuuriki. Utakata could only watch with hatred as the bubble in his heart grew ten times bigger.

Han's POV 

Han was on fire. At least that's what he was thinking as a ninja fired a fireball his way. Han barely had anytime to protect himself with the top part of his steam armor. He knocked the ninja to the side with the back of his hand and he fell into the fire, screaming. Han was nearly at the top building, he could see only a man and several of his ninjas. He seemed to be standing tall and proud, shouting commands. Han jumped again onto the closest building and knocked away any of the water-blowing ninja that approached him.

Han jumped onto the top building and landed behind the brown-haired man. He turned. There were painted lines on his face. One straight across his forehead and two lines down his face near his eyes. He had a stern expression, his hands were crossed on his chest and he didn't seem fazed by the fact that the village was being destroyed by fire and debris.

"Who are you!? What are you doing here!?" The man demanded.

Han didn't respond, he slowly lurched forward to the man. He did a roundhouse kick and hit Han in the face where the steam armor didn't protect him. He then threw a kunai at Han's right eye. Han managed to deflect it but couldn't block the incoming blow to his side. He heard a loud clang and a loud cry but nothing other than that. The man was in pain, that's usually what happened to anyone who hit his armor. Han heated up his armor and steam blew through the furnace on his back. He delivered a super-heated punch to the crying man's cheek causing him to fly a mile away and then fall to his death.

Without the leader's commands, the ninja's that were firing fire and water at Chomei stopped, looking around. Han clapped his hands together and blew the remaining ninja that were on the building away. Han stood at the edge of the building, holding onto the railing and looking up at the injured monster in front of him. She screeched again as a fireball hit one of her wings. Han looked in pity as the beast struggled to keep itself above the blaze that was burning below her.

"Chomei!" Han yelled as loud as he could. He closed his eyes and voluntarily let Kokuo take control momentarily.

_Chomei! Sister! Can't you hear me? _Kokuo called. There was a hint of desperation in his voice. There was only more screeching.

_Han...I can't talk to her, she's in too much pain. You have to revert her back to her normal form. The seal will reform if you hit Chomei in the right place. her host will be back in control. Please, Han. I'm begging you! _Kokuo pleaded to Han.

Han opened his eyes. Han was running low on chakra. It would take everything he had just to make it to Chomei.

But he had to do this. So he squatted, prepared to jump. Then he leaped.


	4. Chapter 4

_I appreciate any type of feedback, this is a bit new, tell me if you like anything or not. Hope you enjoy!_

Yugito's POV

Yugito was dimly aware of the wound in her chest. She barely noticed she was even losing blood. All she knew was that she was tied up, gagged, and stuffed into a small and dark space. She could hear he breathing, but she could hear someone else. She looked around but she couldn't even see an inch in front of her.

"Kitty is finally done with her nap." She heard a familiar voice say. She realized that this whole thing wasn't a bad dream. It was the truth. Hidan of the Akatsuki was here with her. She immediately made her nails extend and started scraping the bottom of the floor. It seemed to be metal by the way it sounded. "Stop! Kakuzu paid a lot of money just to buy this thing. I wouldn't scratch it up."

"I don't give a damn." Yugito hissed with fury.

She felt another blow to her cheek, "Don't disobey me. Listen, it won't be that long 'till we're at the hideout. After that we can forget about you and you won't have to worry about us. Ever." Hidan laughed. Yugito felt her stomach tighten and a lump in her throat form.

_Fool, _Matatabi said. Yugito found this interesting considering that her "partner" rarely spoke to her. Yugito frowned.

_Excuse me? _She asked the cat. She didn't respond. Yugito immediately felt sorry. She didn't want her to go away. She didn't want to be alone again. _Please don't...don't stay quiet like that._

The cat still didn't respond. All of a sudden she heard a sigh and looked up into the darkness, "So, how's the kids?"

Yugito was silent. She needed to focus on getting out of here. She closed her eyes and perked up her senses. She could hear everything from two hearts beating to birds chirping outside. Snakes slithering across the ground, water falling somewhere maybe about two miles from where she was. She knew she was moving. She could hear horses making sounds and slowly making their way to their unannounced destination. She could only smell two things, blood and rusted metal. She saw nothing. Yugito shuffled in her spot and rearrange herself into a comfortable position and immediately she felt pain. It shot up and down her body like a thousand knives trying to pierce their way out of her skin. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she gasped and took deep breaths.

"Might not want to do that. My scythe hurt you pretty bad and you bled..a lot. You should be lucky I got my hands on you and not Sasori. You'd be in a much worse condition." Hidan said.

"Shut up!" Yugito cried.

Hidan laughed and quieted down. Yugito tried to figure out a way that she could escape from a metal cage but failed. Only if...Yugito gulped. Hidan seemed interested in her in a not so friendly way. She only had to play that game long enough to figure out a way out of here.

"How long until I'm out of here?" She asked.

"I don't know." Hidan answered. "But it'll be a while."

"You're going to kill me aren't you?" Yugito questioned. She felt like she needed to get this out of the way before she went any further.

"No, we're going to take you to the park and set you free! Prance among the butterflies kitty!" Hidan joked. Yugito wasn't laughing. "Fine, yes. We're going to kill you after we get that cat out of your system."

"Two tails? But why? Why would you need her?" Yugito wondered.

"Our master says that if we collect all nine tailed beasts, we can unlock a huge power that will be enough to "shape the world in his image," as he likes to put it." Hidan explained, "I'm not really in it for power. I want destruction, pain, death. Only then will Jashin be satisfied."

Yugito had her mind made up, _this guy is the definition of crazy..._she thought, "Jashin?"

"My lord. My true master. He demands of his followers blood. Sacrifices. That's why I joined the Akatsuki, I can kill and sacrifice humans. In turn Jashin grants me immortality. I can never die." Hidan said.

_Immortality, _Yugito thought. If this guy could never die, this was going to be harder than she wanted it to be. Maybe if she melted his head into lava with her flaming hairball. That would shut his mouth up for good.

"But this is much more wonderful than I thought it would be. Unfortunately Kakuzu won't let me hurt you. It's taking every ounce of my strength not to cut you a little bit. Make you lose some more blood," He added. "You jinchuuriki heal fast...maybe Kakuzu wouldn't mind if I just did a little something here and there. He won't know."

"I'll scream," Yugito said. "As loud as I can."

"Kakuzu will be to focused on counting his money...the cage is soundproof anyway. I can do whatever I want."

Yugito moved backwards and she heard Hidan come closer. All of a sudden she felt like puking. Her throat burned and so did her mouth. She realized what it was and instinctively smiled. He was about to bite off more than he could chew.

Han's POV

It was only a minute that passed. To Han, it felt like hours. From the moment he jumped he felt uncertain and scared. He wasn't far from the tip of Chomei's helmet. One wrong move and he might fall and die. Not even he would be able to survive the fall. Han went down feet first, they touched something hard and metal like. It was Chomei's head. She only screeched louder as Han connected with her face.

_You need to hit her right where her tails meet her abdomen. The greenish part, _Han heard Kokuo tell him. Han's eyes were tearing from the smoke and he was sweating. Fire and water whizzed past him, brushing his armor and taking chunks off at times. Han was holding on to the horns on Chomei's head. If he was going to do this, he only had one shot. Or else the chances of him surviving went from 1 out of 100 to 0 out of infinity. Chomei turned her head to avoid a massive ball of flames and Han almost fell off. He had to do it now. So he let go of the horn and fell towards the ring of fire below. His hands brushed off the bug's armor several times as he reached the connection between her abdomen and her tails. Finally it was there.

Right in front of him was the weak spot. All he had to do was strike it once. His punch was already leaned back and ready to hit.

Then there was a searing pain all over his face. Red and orange all around him. He had missed, a fireball had hit him first. Han cried out as he fell to his death, his armor was breaking off and being dissolved by the intense flames.

_"_KOKUO!" Han yelled as his back hit the top of the flames and pain caused the world to go white.

Yagura's POV 

Yagura was on the outskirts of the Hidden Mist by now. The fog was less dense and the trees had gone from a bluish, fading sort of color to a more vibrant and clear brown and green. His pack was still on his back, as was his hook staff. Yagura began to start a slow jog. Then he stopped suddenly aware of eyes. Looking at him? Maybe his mind was playing games with him. Tricking him and confusing him even more. Yagura shook his head, trying to see if he was imagining things. He heard a rustle, footsteps getting closer. Yagura looked around desperately trying to see who it was.

A shadow burst out of the leaves, a katana in their hand. Yagura quickly brought his hook staff from his back and blocked the incoming blade with it.

"What in the world?" Yagura wondered aloud. The shadow was clearly visible. He had a mask on with three red stripes on the left hand side and black eyes. Four squiggly lines were printed on the forehead of the mask. The sign of the Hidden Mist. They were wearing a black body suit that hugged their slender feature. Yagura pointed the staff at the person.

"I know you, you're the hunter ninja of Kirigakure aren't you? That's the only possible answer..." Yagura assumed.

"That's none of your business, Yagura of the Mist." The person said. By the pitch of the voice, Yagura guessed it was a woman.

"Leave me be, I don't want to hurt you." Yagura warned.

"My job is to take you back to the Mizukage, dead or alive." The hunter-ninja spoke.

_Mizukage?_ Yagura wondered. There had to be a new one, but so quickly? He had only left a few days ago. Yagura gripped his staff and stared at the woman's mask, prepared for a fight.

The woman only stared at Yagura, "I guess you're coming back dead."

Gaara's POV

Gaara flew about on his chunk of sand, hoping that he could escape the incoming clay bombs. Temari and Kankuro were next to him, Temari was still half-drunk and Kankuro was struggled to control his puppets with all this movement.

"You think you could slow down!?" Kankuro asked.

"Do you want to be killed?" Gaara answered. Kankuro was silent.

By now the whole entire village was awake. Lights were on and people were crowded on the streets looking up in awe as the Kazekage fought against a mysterious figure. Gaara looked down, worried that they might be hurt. He looked at his siblings.

"You have to go down there and get them out of the village, things might get a lot worse and I don't want to deal with any casualties." Gaara informed.

"But Gaara, you can't deal with him by yourself!" Kankuro protested.

"That wasn't a suggestion, Kankuro." Gaara said. He then made the piece of sand they were floating on disappear. Temari and Kankuro fell towards the ground and hit it just as Gaara's sand slowed them. _They'll be safe now._ Gaara thought with satisfaction.

Deidara was strong but reckless. He was only good at distance fighting, if Gaara could get him off that bird and prevent him from making more clay figures, he would surely win. Gaara pulled more sand from the gourd on his back and sent it towards Deidara's bird. They managed to go upwards and dodge the stream of sand. Gaara wouldn't let them off easy.

He formed a wall of sand was Deidara sent a wave of birds and other flying creatures his way, "Sand Bullet!"

Hundreds upon thousands balls of sand were released from Gaara's wall and flew towards Deidara and his clay owl. Gaara flew upwards to get on an equal level and then formed two Shukaku hands. The both went towards Deidara at a fast pace. Gaara smirked as the hands closed around Deidara's clay owl, which was being torn apart by the sand bullets.

"Sand Coffin...Sand Burial!" Gaara shouted. His hands became fists and the sand closed around Deidara. He watched as the blast expanded the sand but did not break it. Gaara panted and watched as the smoke cleared. No owl. No Deidara.

"Not yet, Gaara." A voice whispered. "Shukaku now belongs to the Akatsuki."

Gaara had no time to react as the clay bombs that had entered the sand platform exploded.

Fu's POV

The next time Fu awoke, she was almost naked in a pile of her torn clothes. The ground was complete brown and charred, there were other black objects that Fu couldn't identify. The air smelled of smoke and blood mixed in. She looked around and saw another figure, it was a man with scratched red armor, several pieces were missing. His eyes were closed and his expression was twisted in pain.

Fu moved closer to him, holding her clothes close to her body. She shook the man once, twice even. She held her head to his chest and listened for a heartbeat. Nothing. Fu panicked. This guy had to be the closest thing to alive. If she didn't save him now, she'd be alone. Alone, burnt, and in pain.

"Wake up...wake up!" Fu shook him violently. Tears were coming down her face now.

_Chomei? Are you there? Please help me! _Fu called out. But for some reason she felt as if the beast weren't going to respond to her for a while. All of a sudden the man moved. It seemed like a twitch. But Fu was filled with hope as the man;s eyes opened and he sat up. His eyes were red and his face was scratched and burnt. He looked at Fu with his hazel eyes.

"What? Why am I alive? Who are you?" The man asked. He looked around, first at the cloudy sky then at Fu.

"I should be asking you those questions," Fu joked. She realized her voice was hoarse and rough.

"We're in the Land of Waterfalls aren't we? I remember...screams...fire...a monster." The man mumbled.

Fu looked at the charred ground. If he was talking about a monster he must have meant her. Chomei had only wanted to get away and rescue her and Fu. By giving Chomei control, she probably made the situation even worse. This man was probably the only survivor of this village.

"What's your name?" Fu asked. "I'm Fu. The worst thing that's happened to your life probably."

"Han. By the way, I've been through worse." Han answered. "Don't you think you should put on some clothes?"

Fu blushed and surveyed the area, "All I see is ash, ash, and more ash. Why don't you get a clue, Han?"

"No need to be rude, I have just woken up, you can't expect me to-"

Han stopped. Fu wondered what had happened and looked at him with a perplexed face, "Earth to Han?"

"Get down." Han said. He laid back down on his stomach. "Kokuo, are you there?"

_Who is this guy?_ Fu wondered as Han closed his eyes. He nodded once. Then opened his eyes again.

"Hostiles, probably some ninja from Takigakure, they really want to kill you don't they?" Han told her.

"How do I know you're not some sort of criminal from Takigakure and they're here for you?" Fu asked.

"I am a criminal. A rogue ninja from my village. I didn't do anything it was mostly just because I have a beast inside of me." Han explained.

Fu froze. _He's just like me. He has something inside of him too._ Fu was about to get up and hug Han, but several ninja came down from the hills and surrounded them.

"Fu Rushizaku. You and your little partner in crime are coming with us." The leader said with a smirk planted on his face. Looks like Fu was going to have to wait a little longer to get some clothes.


	5. Chapter 5

_ Hey everyone, I really like writing these chapters so thanks for following and favoriting if you choose to. Hope you like this one too!_

Naruto's POV

Naruto was awoken by two things. One was the sunlight pointed directly at his eyes, the next was someone lying next to him. At first Naruto thought he was dreaming then he realized it was reality and almost jumped out of bed screaming. It was only Hinata, sleeping peacefully, her blue hair tossed about. Naruto looked at her and smiled. If he could wake up like this every day he'd be in heaven.

Naruto got out of bed and went to the kitchen to see if he could fix something up before Hinata woke up. He'd never cooked before but he figured he ought to try. As he put some eggs in a skillet he heard another knock on the door. He sighed and impatiently ran over to it. He opened it and saw Sai there. He had an expressionless face as usual but was wearing his normal outfit. His tanto on his back.

"Naruto, how pleasant it is to see you this fine morning," Sai greeted with a smile. At least it didn't seem as fake as when they'd first met.

"If you have something to say, could you get on with it?" Naruto said.

"The ANBU forces have reported there being disturbances outside of Konohagakure. Explosions, noises, high chakra spikes, one of them is similar to you Naruto." Sai explained. Naruto was puzzled. _Did they think it's me?_ Naruto thought with worry.

"However, we're so busy preparing for war that we can't do anything about it. Lady Tsunade said we must do something about it. It'll be one of our last missions." Sai continued. "We need to go to the area and rendezvouz with the ANBU agents and Shikamaru since they're already on the scene. Then we'll help them track down the suspects."

"I...see...so do I have to go now?" Naruto asked.

Before sigh could answer, a yawn and some rustling came from Naruto's bedroom. Sai stared at the corridor leading to the room where Hinata was in then looked at Naruto, who was currently about to piss his pants.

"I think you're a bit preoccupied at the moment," Sai said. Naruto could have sworn he saw a hint of disgust on his face. "I'll come back for you later, Cassanova."

Roshi's POV

Roshi dashed through the mountains of Iwagakure, jumping from one rock to another. He knew the direction he was going. He felt chakra similar to his far away in Takigakure so that's where he would go first.

Roshi didn't know what he would do with the jinchuuriki once he rounded them up. He had to train them to control the bijuu if they couldn't so they could fight successfully against the enemies that await in the future. More importantly, he had to figure out _what _he was up against. Roshi had faced a lot of enemies in his life. Enemies that had contantly threatened his life and almost killed him. This time, it was different. Roshi jumped over a wide gap between rocks and continued his way through the mountains.

"This is why I hate Iwagakure sometimes..." Roshi mumbled as he looked further and saw only more rocks. Roshi stopped at a high cliff where he could rest for a little and move on after. He slung his pack off of his shoulder and took out a canteen of water, chugging it down like a wolf. Roshi put the cap back on the canteen and set it in his backpack. He sat on the edge of the cliff and looked out onto the horizon. The sun was in the air as it had just risen. The air was chilly as it normally was in the morning.

"Don't move." Roshi sat up immediately as soon as he heard the voice. HE turned and saw a man with pitch black hair and a Konohagakure headband. There was a line across the Konoha symbol indicating he was a rogue ninja. He had a black cloak with red clouds printed on the fabric. Roshi stared into his eyes. They were strange and foreigh. A black pupil in the middle with a ring of apostrephe's and a red background surrounding it.

Roshi reached for a kunai in his pouch but found out that it wasn't even there. He could've sworn it was. All of a sudden the mountain started to crumble. The man was floating now, inches away from the now collapsing cliff. Roshi gasped as he realized he was paralyzed. The man grabbed onto Roshi's hand and pulled him into the air before the cliff and the mountains were all destroyed and a fall of stone.

"ROSHI!" He heard a voice cry. He gazed down and saw Hana and Gohan. Both were falling...reaching for him. The man's grip tightened around Roshi's wrist.

"Hana! Gohan! No!" Roshi yelled. He turned back to the man. He wasn't even a human anymore. He was an ape with red fur and dark black eyes. Roshi felt his mind being torn to shreds as he looked into the creature's eyes.

"You belong to the Akatsuki now." The ape said. Then he let go of Roshi, letting him fall into the dark chasm below.

Yugito's POV (Earlier during the night)

It didn't take long for Yugito to get free. She released the fiery hairball in her mouth and set it directly into Hidan's face. He screamed and tore at his face, it was too late. The damage was done. Yugito then kicked him in the face and extended her toenails. They became long, pointy claws of death. She reared her foot back and let it loose so that she impaled Hidan right in the neck and tore through the metal cage holding her. Hidan's irregular heartbeat had stopped and he was now silent. Yugito created another hairball in her mouth and fired it at the wall, this time with more speed. It went right through the metal. Yugito smiled. Moonlight shone through the hole and landed on Hidan's expressionless face.

_Matatabi? I need your help, lend me some chakra, please. _Yugito begged the cat.

_Very well. Anything to escape this wretched cage, _Matatabi replied.

She felt energy course through her body. Her inhaled a large breath, _Fire style, fireball jutsu! _She thought. A ball of flame went from her mouth to the wall and immediately melted it, going right through.

Yugito then crawled out, ignoring the burns from the metal and the fading pain that must've been from Hidan's scythe. She was almost free. Then she felt a tentacle around her throat.

"You shouldn't have done that." Kakuzu grumbled. "That cost me a lot of money..."

"Aw...how sweet...you shouldn't have...bought a cage for me." Yugito chuckled as it became harder for her to breath. Kakuzu didn't react. Yugito gathered up her chakra and fired it in the form of a flame. It went right into Kakuzu's face. He immediately withdrew his tentacles and tried to defend against the incoming flames.

Yugito was aware that they were moving. The horses were galloping through the forest, turning this way and that way. They were out of control and scared straight by the flames. She was on a flat platform with a wooden fence for safety. She had burnt through and created a gap for her to escape through. Before she could throw herself onto the road a hand grabbed her leg and pulled on her. She looked down and saw a pale hand. Hidan's hand.

Panic and true terror were entering her body and mind. She screamed loudly and flailed about trying to get Hidan to let go. _He's dead. He should be dead! Why isn't he dead!? _Yugito thought as she tried to free herself from his grip.

"You stupid, little, bitch! I'm going to make you suffer. I'll burn you and cut you!" Hidan shouted angrily. He wasn't letting go.

Yugito began to cry. She'd been holding it in all this time...all these years. She let it all out. Hidan was slowly crawling toward her with a murderous look. He was going to kill her. And he was going to take his time.

_Yugito. This isn't you. You cannot give up now. Not when you're so close! _Matatabi spoke. _I'm here. You're not alone. This man is nothing! Free yourself from these chains!_

Yugito got her second wind. The bindings on her wrists were broken, as were the ones on her legs. Yugito stared at Hidan and kicked him in the face. He still did not let go. Kakuzu was recovering quickly, she had to do something.

"LET ME GO!" Yugito screamed. At that moment, her body burst into flames and Hidan cried out, letting her go. The horses took a hard right and began to collide and trip on each other. The cart flipped over and began to roll down the hill. Yugito flew out into the air, grasping for something to save herself. But there was nothing that could save her now.

Utakata's POV

"You already know water style?" Utakata asked Hotaru. She nodded, a smug grin on her face. "Show me what you can do."

She nodded and began to weave signs, she then yelled, "Water Style, Water Spout Jutsu!"

A stream of water came from her mouth, aimed right for Utakata's face. BY the time she was done, he was drenched in water and his blue robe was wet. She must've seen his grim expression. She giggled playfully.

"Oops?" She apologized with a forgiving face.

"I should've never agreed to this." Utakata mumbled.

"But you did, so teach me how to do the things with the bubbles." Hotaru demanded.

"No, two reasons why," Utakata answered. "One, you don't have a bubble blower, and two, you're not like me."

"Well, those are quite obvious, I'm a girl, you're a boy." Hotaru commented.

"I don't mean gender. I'm talking about other things. You wouldn't understand, you're a child."

"I'm _eighteen!_ You idiot."

"Still a child."

Hotaru began to weave signs. Utakata shook his head, "Listen, no need for that."

"Then say you're sorry."

Utakata frowned. He hated when people, especially people, pushed him around like this. "I'm sorry."

"Good, now we can get on with the lesson?"

Utakata let out a deep breath, "I'll teach you the bubble blowing technique."

He handed her his bubble blower, "Please don't damage it."

Hotaru laughed, "I won't, I promise."

Utakata smiled and stopped as he realized he was even making a gesture of kindness. _You just have to teach her this, then you'll be gone Utakata. _He told himself. Hotaru began to blow into the bubble blower with all her might. She only let out specks of water, spit, and air.

"No, not like that. You have to concentrate. Control your chakra. If you emit a tiny amount of water and combine it with air you'll create a bubble." Utakat instructed. Hotaru nodded and closed her eyes. Her cheeks puffed up and for a while nothing happened. Then a small bubble began to form at the end of the bubble blower. It was still struggling to be free.

"Almost there. Give it a tiny bit more air and tiny bit more water." Utakata continued.

The bubble popped and Hotaru let go of the bubble blower. She was huffing, "Damn it. It's too hard to concentrate that much air for that long."

"You'll get it eventually." Utakata said.

"Does that mean you're going to stay longer?" Hotaru asked. She looked up at him with hope-filled eyes. Utakata stared at her, unable to answer or even respond. He didn't know what to say. _Say no. Say no! _His mind screamed at him. But Utakata couldn't bring himself to.

"That's what I thought." Hotaru said with a hint of disappointment. Utakata immediately felt guilty and sad for this girl. She seemed lonely and like she held so much sorrow. Utakata couldn't exactly remember who the girl reminded her of.

"Princess Hotaru!" Utakata heard someone call. He looked and saw Hotaru's father, Hachime, running up the hill and towards them. He was out of breath and bloody. He tripped and fell, landing on the grass. Hotaru rushed to her feet and ran towards him.

"Father! What's wrong!?" She called as she reached his side. Utakata got to his feet and walked over to her.

A shape moved in front of Utakata. He stopped and looked around, suddenly aware of several other presences. He looked at Hotaru and her father. He was still bloody. It didn't make sense, he hadn't heard any screams from the house and there were certainly no blood stains anywhere near the grounds. Utakata's heart sank as he realized what was going on.

"Hotaru! Get away from him, now!" Utakata ordered. Hotaru didn't respond.

He was too late. The fake Hachime had already moved. In a plume of smoke they were hidden. BY the time it cleared Hotaru was standing, a man behind her, her mouth was covered by the man's hand and his kunai was pointed at her throat. Utakata realized with little surprise that this man was Koene.


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey guys, there'll be more chapters tomorrow. Anyway, I hope you guys like this one. In this one I only included three perspectives so I hope that's okay._

Bee's POV 

Bee tried to keep the battle as calm and secretive as he could. That was pretty much impossible when a loud-mouthed shark-man had interrupted his battle, killed Samui, and tried to kill him. The battle had been dragged out all throughout the night and even now Bee dashed through the trees, hopping off of thick branches, to avoid his death.

He was absolutely tired of this. He thought if he put distance between himself and his home, people wouldn't be constantly trying to kill him. Like that Uchiha guy and his subordinates. He'd managed to avoid this his whole life. He grimly remembered his days with A, the Raikage. He'd changed as soon as he became appointed the Raikage. He'd became more serious and more strict. Bee couldn't wander or have fun around his own village because A had forbidden him to. _You're a jinchuuriki. You can't just wander off carelessly writing in that stupid book of rhymes! You belong to the Hidden Cloud Village! _He remembered A shouting at him the night before Killer Bee had decided to run away. That's when the Uchiha had caught him and tried to capture Gyuki.

If anything Bee should've felt homesick. But all he wanted to do was put as much distance as he could between him and his memories. Maybe that meant he had to find a new home. But first he had to escape.

He looked around, the morning sun had already risen and no longer cast a orange glow on the world. The leaves were as green as they could be and stood tall. They gave a good cover, for now it didn't seem like anyone was going to be catching up anytime soon. He looked behind him.

Boy was he wrong. Maybe about five yards away from him, the guy was riding a wave of water, his arms crossed across his chest and a smug look on his face. He knew he was going to catch Bee.

_Bee, move faster! At this rate you'll drown in his water! _Gyuki shouted.

Bee gritted his teeth, _I can't do this!_ _Stop getting pissed!_

_Then take my chakra, let's show this guy what we can really do. _Gyuki said. Bee smiled and stopped at a nearby branch. He took some of his own chakra and Gyuki's chakra to create a red, bubbly, cloak around himself. Bee faintly shivered/ The chakra cloak was tingly and seemed to teasingly poke at his skin. Yet it still felt warm and energizing. The shark-man came closer, a smirk still planted on his face.

He was still mad at him for killing Samui. Even if the she had tried to kill Bee, she didn't deserve to die. He shivered as he reminded himself of how the shark-man had come out of nowhere and swiped his sword. In one clean sweep he completely torn Samui's skin up and sent her flying headfirst into a tree. Bee didn't need to be a doctor to now that her life had ended right then.

"That's right you ugly beast. Come right here." Bee whispered.

The man was finally in range. Bee produced black ink and sent it towards the waver of water. In a cloud of darkness, Bee was concealed. He jumped upwards, guessing the man couldn't see him. He then began to fall downwards headfirst. The wind whipped past his face as he descending straight into the ink. He felt around for the man's large chakra, he was almost right on top of him. His eyes were well suited for darkness and he could see clearly as his bicep collided with a cold, wet face.

Yagura's POV 

The hunter ninja threw four needles at Yagura's neck which he blocked with his hook staff. The hunter began weaving signs with one hand. Yagura had never seen anything like it before. He thought he had saw something similar sometime in his past. Something to do with water and the cold.

"Water Style, Water Spout Jutsu!" The hunter ninja said aloud. He then pointed a stream of water at the ground. It went directly through and came out in several different spots. Yagura caught on to what was going on and moved to the left just as a stream of scalding water came out from where he had been standing.

Yagura kept moving left and right, backwards and forwards, just to avoid the water. Eventually he made a mistake a traveled to a previously used spout. A burst of water came from it and shot up past his leg and into his face. He fell backwards, startled by the burst of hot water. His eyes stung and water had gone up into his nose. He landed in a puddle of cold water this time. The hunter began to weave signs again. This time water came out of all holes and were directed towards him. There was a shower of burning water and steam and the air was filled with Yagura's cried. He could barely even breathe without getting a mouthful of water. Finally it stopped and Yagura lay there. His skin was itchy and seemed to smoke. Yagura himself was barely able to move.

"Ninja Art, Frozen Atmosphere." The hunter whispered.

The air immediately grew cold and Yagura involuntarily shivered. The water froze all around him. The puddle he landed on stuck to his back and the water on his body had become cold and froze. It stuck to his skin like tape. Yagura couldn't move. He was stuck in the ice. All of a sudden it came back to him. The Yuki Clan. They had a Kekkei Genkai, they could manipulate water and turn it into ice. From sharp needles to frozen sea's they could do it all. Then the blood came back. He saw himself pointing toward a village in the west of his mansion. He saw the men running with kunai and paper bombs. Fire, blood, and screams. Yagura cried out and tried to free himself. But he was frozen, unable to move physically and mentally.

"I'll give you one last chance." The hunter said. He stood over Yagura looking into his eyes with no emotion. "You're coming with me, dead or alive. We could always reseal the jinchuuriki again. All the other times we've failed. The third Mizukage, Hanare, the girl from Konoha. Now you. I don't want to go through the whole process again. So now's your chance."

Yagura didn't move. He only looked at the man's mask. He closed his eyes and let out one last breath. He wasn't going to die here. He wasn't. All he had to do was tap in to the inner power. To three-tails. Then he could have enough power to kill this assassin.

_Three-tails, if what the man says is true, I don't think you really like dying. I'm just asking for a little chakra. Enough to get out of here and escape. Please. _

Silence. The beast didn't respond. The ninja let out an annoyed sound, "Fine. I guess it can't be helped. Some people are just too stubborn."

An icicle formed in the hunter's hand. It was sharp and cold. Instant death. Yagura looked up at the cloudy sky. He had been so close to freedom. So close to finding out the truth. His past. The man that had controlled him. It was all going to end here. The truth would always remain a mystery. The cold had numbed most of his body and even breathing made his body tremble. The ninja flipped the icicle into the air and grabbed again.

He brought it down with a swift motion and stabbed Yagura in the heart.

Fu's POV

Fu walked through the forests of Takigakure, her wrists cuffed. Han walked beside her, he seemed tired and slower then he looked. At least she wasn't naked anymore. The Takigakure ninja had given her a tattered robe to wear and nothing more. The ninja were all around her. Some of their eyes were locked onto her and Han. The others were gazing ahead of them.

"So she's the jinchuuriki? The one we're supposed to capture?" She heard one of the ninja whisper.

"Yes." His buddy replied.

"What about the other guy?"

"He was the only other one alive in that village besides her. We'll question him later."

Fu glanced over at Han. His head was down and he didn't seem to be paying attention to anything going on around him. He seemed distracted with something. Fu wished he could talk to him. The last time she tried, one of the ninja put a kunai to her back and stopped her. She was only left with herself and her thoughts for company. She had no idea what was going on with Chomei. She had been quiet ever since they'd started this journey and no matter how many times Fu tried to talk to her, she didn't respond.

Fu wished she could be back home with her mother. She'd lived in a little farming village on the outskirts of Takigakure. That was until her father had chosen her mother as his wife. Then Fu had lived a wonderful life as a little princess running around her father's mansion. But it all had to end someday. Fu could remember it clearly, the day the men came and took her away. Her father didn't even bat an eye. Her mother on the other hand, couldn't do anything to save Fu. _The jinchuuriki of Chomei has passed. The seal failed to work. We have to put the monster in someone. _Fu remembered them telling her mom. After that it was nothing but pain. Pain for days. In that moment when Chomei was being sealed within her. It was like torture. She was always on the verge of death, but no matter how much she begged to be free, death wouldn't take her.

So she lived. But it was never the same. The people of the village looked at her with absolute hatred and distaste. The only people she had was her mother and Chomei. After years of living through hell she finally decided when she was seventeen to run. Run and never come back. She didn't make it very far. The outer village had attacked her and tried to kill her. All she remembered was letting Chomei take over and fire. And still pain. Now here she was, walking back to the very place she despised.

Fu realized that the group of them had stopped. They were looking up at Takigakure. The village was surrounded by a humongous tree that could've been more than fifty feet tall. It's branches stretched out and created a large shadow. It moved slightly now and then as breezes passed through. To anyone else, it might've seemed beautiful and calm. But Fu knew better. The people that lived in this giant tree were obnoxious and evil people.

"Where are we going?" Fu asked. A member of the group turned and faced her, annoyance was evident in his eyes.

"Know you're place you monster. You only talk when we say you can." He said slowly, emphasizing each word.

"Mako. Please," Another one of them said, placing a hand on Mako's shoulder. He then looked at Fu, "Where else would we be going Fu? To Sejio Ro's palace."

Fu froze. _Sejio...Ro? Father..._she thought with fear. Fu knew a lot about her father. She knew he had zero-tolerance for rogue ninja. That's why he'd sent all the ninja he could to find that traitor Kakuzu. If that was the case then Fu already knew what to expect. Her and Han were about to be on death row.


	7. Chapter 7

_Hey guys. sorry I haven't updated in a while, school has been pretty hectic this week. I've been mostly studying and living off of cappuccino's I get from Starbucks. But anyway, I do appreciate the reviews. They aren't much but they gave me some good ideas to work with. Also I did make a mistake which one of my readers clarified. Chomei is a boy and Kokuo is a girl._

Han's POV

Wherever the men were taking Han and Fu, he figured that Sejio-Ro wouldn't be any better than the village outside of Takigakure. Although this place was much better when it came to appearance. The entire village was surrounded by a massive and tall tree that seemed to reach the heavens. Inside was even more appealing. The houses were made out of limestone and wood and the rooftops were either in a pagoda style or dome shaped, the floor was mostly grass except for the occasional stone floor. As Han walked down the pathway they had taken he saw several people turning to look at the two. Some of them took double takes and whispered among themselves.

Han didn't really care. He was more focused on finding a way to escape the tree. He scanned the area. He figured maybe he'd be able to burst through the tree and leave with Fu, but his steam armor gloves had been burnt off when he had fallen into the flames and any attempt to leave forcefully would fail. Not to mention Han was practically dragging himself across the village. There was nowhere he could really go. Han had lived a long time in solitude. Just the birds chirping around him and a small little shack in the middle of the woods. Then he left. He figured maybe there was something out there for him. Just waiting for Han to grab it. Well, the only place that decision led him to was fire, pain, and capture.

Han glanced over at his new acquintance. She was staring straight ahead and the large mansion at the back of the tree which stood like a giant among the average houses. She seemed to not really be looking, like she was lost deep in thought. He imagined with seeing her father again, she wasn't in the greatest mood.

"Well, Fu. We're almost there, excited to see daddy again?" The leader of the ninja asked. He had a ecstatic expression on his face. Han had the urge to punch him right then.

Fu didn't answer, "Oh come on. Don't give me the cold shoulder." The leader whined.

"When I get out of here I'll make sure I come after you first, Rehto." Fu said in a low tone.

"How frightening. The little bug thinks she can squish us." Mako laughed.

"Douche bag..." Fu grumbled. Mako instantly turned toward her and glared. He began to inch toward her and Han almost moved to protect her. Another figure stopped Mako before Han could. He was dressed in a white robe tied with a black sash. Sea foam was painted on the fabric. His face seemed stern and angular and his reddish hair contrasted Fu's mint colored hair greatly. He seemed like he was a handsome fellow but there was a dangerous look in his eyes that Han didn't like.

"I suggest you _don't_ hurt my daughter, Mako. There'll be consequences." The man said with a menacing hint.

Mako's features softened and he stepped backwards, "I understand Master Sejio-Ro."

Han watched carefully as Sejio-Ro looked him over. He didn't seem impressed, "And you are?"

Han didn't answer. He had a feeling if he gave his identity away to him, there would be a lot worse things done to him. Sejio-Ro smiled.

"I guess you're more of the silent type aren't you?" He suggested as he circled Han, "That might be a problem. So you'll cooperate...won't you?"

Sejio-Ro looked him in the eyes and Han froze. He felt as if his body were crumbling. He watched in horror as the people surrounding him turned into pools of blood that began to envelope him and harden. Han was in the dark, lonely and immediately shocked and frightened. He couldn't do anything, his steam armor was gone.

He blinked and the world returned to normal. His head began to pound and his doubled over. He vomited with a sickening grunt. His vision began to blur as he tried to look up at the monster that had just appeared.

Naruto's POV 

Naruto stood in front of Lady Tsunade's desk. His stomach was rumbling and his urge to jump out the window and head directly to Ichiraku's for four bowls on the spot. But he head to stay hear watching Grandma talk all day.

"So I'm sending Team Seven to the site of the disturbances to inspect them." She explained.

"Does anyone know what it is?" Sakura asked.

"The ANBU agents I sent there a while ago haven't come back. I don't know what's going on. Returning ninja have inspected the sites and not even them have came back." Tsunade replied.

"What if the problem we run into is too much for us to handle? It sounds like this enemy is strong and..." Sai stopped. His eyes grew wide and he pointed to the window behind Tsunade. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, Sai? Everything okay?" He asked.

"Naruto, you idiot! Don't you see that wave of water in the distance?" Sakura pointed out.

Naruto squinted and finally saw it. It was high in the air for a second but immediately crashed back down. He was smart enough to know he was dealing with some sort of water release ninja but you only saw those kinds of water release if there was a major battle going on. Naruto was curious and at the same time a bit afraid. Tsunade looked at Team Seven, "Enough standing around and enough questions. Get there now! Or else god help me I will send you all back to the academy!" Tsunade ordered.

"You got it, Grandma!" Naruto yelled. He rushed out the door and down the steps. Sakura and Sai close behind, both trying to stop Naruto. Naruto burst through the front doors and began to jump onto the building and over them, one by one. He got the feeling that whatever was going on was exciting. Even now he felt a tingling sensation in his stomach.

He landed on his feet at the end of the village gates. He looked back and saw his teammates in hot pursuit. They landed next to him, Sakura looked angry, Sai on the other hand...looked the same as he always did.

"Naruto, you can't just go charging into the area like that! You could get yourself killed!" Sakura lectured.

"I didn't even go! I decided to wait for you. Lay off will you, Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"We don't have time for your little quarrels. We must be getting to the area Lord Hokage detailed." Sai intervened.

"Alright, alright. Let's go." Naruto said.

He began to run outside of the gate and toward the forest area, Sakura and Sai close behind. Naruto looked in the distance. He'd left Hinata in his apartment after he'd gotten the news from Sai. He was glad the pale boy hadn't decided to mention anything. He just hoped what he was about to rush into wasn't going to be a worst-case scenario. Naruto didn't particularly enjoy running away and returning to fight the next day.

"What do you think we're dealing with? A rogue ninja? Bandits? Spies? We get a lot of those these days." Sakura wondered.

"I just hope we get this done and over with real quick. I have other things I need to take care of."

"Like your "equipment". Right?" Sai asked. Naruto looked back at him with murder in his eyes. Sai frowned.

"Since when do you have stuff to take care of? Does this have to do with training?" Sakura asked, ignoring the previous comment.

"Just...stuff." Naruto answered. He stopped at the end of the dirt path where the green forest began. Naruto almost collapsed when he suddenly felt a wave of pain roll over him. He clutched his stomach and almost threw up. _Something's in my stomach! _He thought as he felt a sort of tugging pain. It was like a chick trying to free itself from an egg. A sort of sharp feeling that wanted to poke through his stomach and itself be free. Naruto was dimly aware of the crash the came from a close distance. He fell to his knees as the pain grew worse.

As he kneeled on the ground and Sakura and Sai began to try and help him, he realized with terror that his stomach was exactly where the seal should be. The seal for keeping the Nine-Tails at bay.

Yugito's POV

Yugito awoke to a bright sun shining on her face. It was directly overhead now. She felt as if she'd been trampled by an avalanche. Her head pounded and her whole body was in pain. The wound in her midsection had begun to bleed again. She tried to get up and fell back down quickly after feeling a numbing pain in her arms. She figured she had broken something but she had no time to worry. She looked around from her spot. If she had remembered correctly, she'd fallen down a hill from a carriage and almost died. She wondered if the other Akatsuki members had survived the crash.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she spotted the body. It was nearby what remained of the carriage. Pieces of wood, metal, and dead horses. She recognized him from his gray hair. If he didn't have that, Yugito wouldn't have even known it was him. His body seemed to be completely out of shape. A metal rod had pierced his chest where his heart should be and his arms and legs were bent at an awkward angle. One of his arms wasn't even attached to his body anymore. His whole body was bloody and beaten.

But Yugito had seen worse. She looked around for the other one, Kakuzu. He couldn't have been that far away. At that moment she felt a tickling sensation on the soles of her feet. She looked down and saw two black tentacles trying to grab her. They seemed weak and withered. As if they were dying.

_Yugito, you need to run._ Matatabi whispered.

_I can't. I think my whole body his broken._ Yugito responded desperately trying to get a few inches away from the tentacles.

_I will heal you but you need to get up._ Matatabi informed.

Before Yugito could say anything back, the pounding in her head faded away and her wound stopped bleeding with a sizzle. The pain in her arms vanished and with it, her confidence came back. She moved her arms and there was no pain. She got up although her legs were still painful. She looked around. She was in a clearing and surrounded by trees in every direction. At least she had some sort of cover. She looked and saw Kakuzu's body. It was worse than Hidan. His body had been ripped in half but there was no blood. Only tentacles connecting to repair the damage that had been made. Yugito stumbled back as his head turned to look at Yugito.

He opened his mouth, "Don't you dare run. You know I'll come after you. You can't kill us...ever."

Yugito felt true despair. Even Hidan seemed to be stirring. These Akatsuki would chase her forever, hunting her. If they couldn't die what was she to do? No one could run forever. She'd worked so hard just to gain the respect of her village. Now everything she worked to achieve would be gone. She'd live her life on the run. Her life would stop right there.

_Stop it Yugito, now. You can worry about life later. Right now these Akatsuki are here. In front of you. They will kill you. Run! Run!_ Matatabi shouted.

Yugito decided to take her advice. She began to run as fast as a bad leg could go. She dodged trees and vines and anything that might come between her and escape. She had a good head start. It would take a while for the two to completely regenerate. Enough time for her to lose them and find help.

The pain in her leg eventually went away as well. She broke into a four-legged run now, her fingertips digging into the earth to pull herself forward.

She knew no matter what that she couldn't stop. She couldn't stop running, or else she they would catch up and that would be the end. She began to speed up frantically running through the dense forest. Yugito, in the back of her mind, wondered if this was only the beginning of what was to come.


	8. Chapter 8

_I figured I'd try and get this chapter up if not today then tomorrow. And also, I probably just confused a lot of you when you saw Tsunade in the last chapter. Danzo is coming back from the summit still. Tsunade's already healed so when he comes back his position as Hokage will be revoked. Anyway, hope you like it and please review!_

Roshi's POV

The next time Roshi ever saw daylight was when he awoke on the shoulder of someone else. He felt sick to his core and no matter how hard he tried he could barely move his body. His vision was still a bit blurry but it didn't really matter. He was completely immobilized. He had no chakra left at all and Four-Tails wasn't about to give him anything. He was at the mercy of this dark-haired fellow that belonged to the Akatsuki.

He looked down at the ground and saw only gravel and dirt. He was probably still somewhere nearby the mountains but it was hard to tell when he couldn't raise his head. As his eyes moved he caught a glimpse of another shape walking beside him. Most of his body was covered with an Akatsuki cloak and his nails were painted purple. A red ring was on his ring finger. As he looked up he saw the same dark hair that the one holding him had. _A doppelganger..._Roshi thought with puzzlement. He began to mull over the fact and had an idea soon after.

If it really was a doppelganger then a certain amount of damage Roshi dealt would make the clone disappear. Then maybe Roshi had a chance to get away. It's was a long shot, Roshi had to have enough energy to move and to attack the double. He had more information about the enemy though. As long as he avoided his eyes then his genjutsu wouldn't affect him.

Roshi took a deep breath. His plan was set. Now all he had to do was wait.

Utakata's POV

Utakata didn't bother going back to Hotaru's clan and telling them the news. They'd first blame him for Hotaru's capture then try and kill him or something terrible like that. Utakata was used to this people turning on him. But he was never used to people being hurt because of him.

It wasn't a feeling he enjoyed.

He ran through the forests. Usually the Land of the Sea was quiet at this time. During the day people got out onto their boats to travel to the Mother Island and make trades. Most of the people from the Tsuchigumo palace and the village had left bright and early in the morning. No one left at the palace could have helped him anyway.

He knew that most likely the hunter ninja from Kiri would try to lead him into a trap using Hotaru. _If you had any sense you wouldn't even try to save her._ Utakata told himself. He shook the thought away. She was his responsibility. If they truly were master and student then he _had _to save her. Even this wasn't only for Hotaru. This was for himself as well. He couldn't run anymore, not from these hunter ninja. They'd keep chasing him until they had him in chains and in the prison of Kirigakure. So he'd stop them for good if he had to.

He almost missed the kunai flying toward him from behind. He moved his head in enough time to dodge it. Strings of his hair were cut off as he landed on the ground unharmed. He looked around. No one was showing themselves. The kunai had to come from somewhere. Another kunai came, this time from his right. He moved forward swiftly and saw the figure come toward him, his fist reared back. The hunter ninja hit him square in the cheek sending Utakata flying backwards.

As he got up wiping the blood off of his chin he saw the hunter ninja showing themselves one by one. They surrounded him, kunai and shuriken in one hand. Utakata was severely outnumbered but numbers never mattered when he was fighting.

"I didn't expect the Six-Tails jinchuuriki would be that stupid! To follow us just to save your little girlfriend? That's pure idiocy at its finest gentlemen." One of the men said.

Utakata frowned, "Where's Hotaru?"

"Koene will take good care of her while he handle you." The one that had punched him said with a smirk. Utakata clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He didn't have time for these fools. He had to make short work of them.

He began to weave signs while jumping into the air then he pulled out his bubble blower out after he was done, _Acid Clone Jutsu!_ He put his lips to the top of the blower and began to blow bubbles. At first they hovered into the air then they began to take the form of Utakata. At that moment kunai's came flying from every direction. One of the five clones he created transformed into a bubble around the others to protect them. The kunai's either bounced off or melted. After the assault was finished the bubble popped and Utakata began to attack, the clones following his lead.

He first took on two of them at once, dodging their first punch and delivering a roundhouse kick to their jaw. He heard a crack and a cry. _One down, a million more to go._ Utakata thought as he quickly released a stream of boiling water in another ones face. His doppelgangers were doing well too. They created bubbles from their hands and formed them around the hunters heads and melted their skin off.

Another four ninja came flying toward him from the mess of the dead or incapacitated. He jumped over one of the lunging ninja and delivered a blow to his back. He backhanded another one in the face and did a midair split to kick the other two. He picked up a kunai from the ground and threw at one of the ninja's neck, killing them instantly. The other three angrily began to attack with no rhythm or purpose at all. Like wild monkeys. Utakata jumped overhead and blew another bubble.

One of them was stupid enough to throw a kunai. It popped and the acid flew all over them. They screamed a bit too loudly for Utakata and he almost felt a pang of regret. Almost.

He looked back at his clones and saw they were handling the battle well. Utakata wanted to kill all of them and rid himself of their presence. But he could end lives later. Right now he had to save one.

Bee's POV

He was tired of this shark-man named Kisame. He'd tried a lariat. He tried his lightning style. He tried using his own _pencil_ charged with lightning to kill him. Nothing worked. He was a brute and a tank. Bee had only one choice and that was either to transform into Gyuki or run. Gyuki had objected to option one, saying that if they transformed the Hidden leaf might know of their presence and send ninja to kill them.

So Bee ran. Jumping from tree branch to tree branch while Kisame was in hot pursuit, riding another wave on top of his sword while the water completely leveled the forest, breaking trees and leaving a path of destruction anyone could see. Bee hated that this monster was destroying nature but at the moment he could only be concerned about himself.

Bee was frustrated and stressed out at the same time. He couldn't fight the guy without getting himself hurt. He already had a deep gash in his left arm he got from that crazy sword and some bite marks on his leg. His chakra was less than half when he tried to use the bijuu chakra cloak since the sword had siphoned much of his chakra. Now all he could do was hop on trees and pray to the lord that he'd be saved.

Fortunately his prayed were answered when he turned to the right and ran right into a blonde-haired fool. They both toppled to the ground, Bee landing on his hip. He groaned and rubbed it. He looked behind him and realized that the wave had stopped. Instead it had became a huge ball of water that floated a couple of feet off the ground. Two other ninja came beside Bee and the blonde guy. He looked over at their head bands. _Ninja from Konoha...great._ Bee thought. Maybe if they didn't make so much noise this wouldn't have happened.

Kisame landed nearby the group of four, looking at them with a wild expression, "Well whaddya know? I made enough noise that Konoha had to send some pests to bother my fun. They sent some ANBU over a while ago you know and even some other jonin."

Bee didn't like to be reminded the bloodbath Kisame had started when the ninja attacked. He had cut through the soldiers like they were nothing. The only good thing was that it had bought Bee some time to run. Without them he'd probably be dead.

"What did you do to them?" The blonde haired boy said. There was apparent anger and hatred in his eyes.

"What do you think?"

The boy charged at Kisame, "Naruto, stop!" The girl in the group said.

He didn't listen. He just formed a ball of blue chakra in his hand and aimed for Kisame who dodged effortlessly.

"Damn it!" Naruto cursed as the blue ball disappeared.

"Looks like the Nine-Tails brat learned some new tricks." Kisame joked, the same ugly smirk planted on his face. _Nine-Tails? _Bee wondered. _He's a jinchuuriki isn't he?_

"I have more than enough tricks to knock your ass into next week!" Naruto threatened.

"That idiot!" The girl whispered. Kisame took his sword off of his back and charged at Naruto, who took out his kunai to use as protection. He ducked to avoid one strike and attempted to push the blade into Kisame's leg. He missed as Kisame jumped overhead and landed behind Naruto. He brought his wide blade down and shredded a part of Naruto's pants as well as the skin.

"Sakura, we have to do something." The pale one said to the girl.

"I know," She looked at Bee, "I don't know who you are but you're going to help us whether you like it or not."

Bee sighed and got to his feet, ignoring the pain in his arm and leg which was already healing.

"Let's go, Sai." Sakura said. Sai nodded and they both ran into the battle to assist Naruto.

Bee watched as Kisame began to take on the three of them. He took all the bandages off of his sword revealing a sort of creature with teeth but no eyes. It had sharp spikes protruding downwards from every part of the creature's body. A handle with a skull on the end was the only part that was normal.

"_Skreeee!_" The creature screeched. It seemed to struggle and squirm in Kisame's grasp.

"Chaaaaa!" Sakura yelled as she threw a punch, aiming for Kisame's face. She missed and Kisame took the opportunity to kick her into a tree trunk. Sai took his tanto blade out of its case and charged toward Kisame, he seemed more confident and careful as he avoided the sharp and much alive blade.

Naruto appeared behind Kisame all of a sudden with the same blue orb in his hand. There was barely any time to react, but still Kisame moved. He delivered a direct blow to Naruto's side with the sword. As soon as it made contact he pulled it back and a bloody wound was created. The handle of the blade hit Sai's in the nose as it reared back.

Naruto cried out and fell to the ground on his knees, clutching his side. Sai stumbled backwards holding his bloody nose. Sakura was on her feet now and prepared to fight.

_Stop standing around Bee!_ Gyuki yelled to Bee. _Move your ass and help that jinchuuriki!_

Bee didn't want to. He felt as if that Kisame was a invincible foe, swift, deadly, and strong. One more punching bag couldn't possibly make a difference.

But he had to try.

Bee took his last two blades and gripped the handles tight. He was prepared to fight, no matter what the cost.


	9. Chapter 9

_Hello to all my readers, thank you for reviewing and favoriting and following the story. I like it a lot so it's really inspirational to know that people like my story too._

Gaara's POV

Gaara felt weak and light, like there were no bones in his body. Of course, after falling through the air and being captured by the Akatsuki, feelings like that were expected.

But this time Gaara was much more than weak. He was alone and in some sort of mushy white substance. He could break off pieces but it would always grow back. He even could see the outside world through two circles. He figured he was in one of Deidara's clay birds but it didn't matter, unless he wanted to fall to his death, he wasn't getting out of here.

His gourd was gone and by the looks of it, he wasn't anywhere near Sunagakure anymore. The telltale signs of raging sandstorms or buried buildings were gone. In place of them was grass and trees. He could be anywhere from Takigakure to Konohagakure.

As he rested his back against the soft clay he felt like giving up. With that explosion last night, all of his morale seemed to leave him. The explosion had destroyed most of his sand armor and the only thing left was pieces on his face and legs. His sand had meant everything to Gaara, it was his protection, his weapon, his gift.

It was the only tie he had to his mother.

Gaara didn't remember much from his birth and he certainly didn't like bringing it up mentally or verbally. His mother seemed to be the only one who had appreciated his existence from the beginning. He fought so hard for so long and now he was Kazekage. But he was ashamed of himself. He was supposed to be strong, strong enough to protect his people and he couldn't even do that. Now he was stuck in a ready-to-blow bird with a crazed artist who couldn't even make real art.

There was most likely nothing he could do to save himself now. All he needed was sand. Some sort of sand to manipulate.

His eyes blinked twice as he realized what he could possibly do. He had his sand armor, but that was all he had left for protection against anything. One direct hit and he'd be done for. But he had to try, what else was he to do? He began to control what was left of the hardened sand. He had only one trick that would work. As he pulled the sand off and formed it into a ball he picked off a tiny piece and sent it out of the eye of the bird. It flew through the air, it's target being the surface.

Gaara felt it the minute that piece of sand hit the ground. There was sand inside of the earth. He just had to pull it towards him. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths. He concentrated on the ground. All he could feel was the wind brush his face as they moved through the sky and all he could hear was his own rhythmic breaths. He lifted his hand once and felt the sand move to his will. He smiled, _I'm not done yet._

Fu's POV

Fu was anything but happy to see her father again. All she could think as she entered the palace was that everything was wrong. Once again she no longer had Han. She barely knew him but he was a jinchuuriki. If anything she felt some sort of attachment to him. She had watched as the men had dragged Han away to some secret interrogation base underneath the city. Fu couldn't follow, her father had his arm around her neck, leading her to the room where her mother was waiting.

Fu didn't want to do it. The reason she'd left was to leave everything...everyone behind. To make a new life, her own life. Now all she was back to square one again.

"Your mother was deeply saddened by your departure. I'm sure she'd be delighted to see you again." Her father informed her. His voice was still as soothing as it was. If she was a normal citizen, she would've listened to anything he said. But that wasn't the case this time. She could see through it all. Her father wasn't the beauty. He was the beast.

"Yeah well, it'll be better to see her face instead of yours." Fu retorted.

"I suggest you don't act like that. For your mother's sake and yours."

Fu went cold. He wouldn't actually hurt her or her mother would he? Was he that heartless? It was too late to dwell further on his statement. They had reached the room at the end of the hall. Her father twisted the handle and opened the door, entering the room with Fu right beside him.

The room was beautiful, she had to give it that. The wallpaper was a mural of waves of water on the walls and the floor. On the ceiling was a picture of Chomei. The room smelled of jasmine and burnt pine. She spotted the incense on the wooden drawer. In the center of the room was an elegant bed with drapes all around it. It seemed so comfortable that Fu wanted to collapse on it and sleep all day. She remembered back when she was younger how her mother would read her to sleep in that bed all the time. She looked over to her right and saw two tall windows. Sitting by it in a chair made of straw was her mother.

The minute she looked at him, her mother turned and looked back into her eyes. There was a shared moment of silence between them, then her mother got out of the chair almost tripping on her long robes and ran toward Fu, her eyes tearing. Fu didn't respond, she didn't move. All she could do was stand with her eyes wide as her mother grabbed her and hugged her tightly.

Fu tried to say a million things at once, but all that came out was, "I'm sorry."

Her mother let go of her and looked her in the eyes. Even more tears began to stream down her cheeks, "You don't need to be. I'm sorry for whatever I did to make you leave."

_You married my dad. _Fu wanted to say. But she kept quiet. Her mother sobbed as she kissed Fu's forehead as if she was trying to get some sort of response. All Fu could do was cry. She wasn't crying for joy thought, she knew that much. She was crying for the life she was going to live with her father.

Yagura's POV

He should've been dead. He should've. But luckily Three-Tails was not in the mood for dying today.

The ice needle should've pierced his heart and killed him but it didn't. He didn't even feel any pain. He felt hollow somehow, as if he wasn't supposed to be here, but dead. Yagura almost wished he was. He freed his hand with little difficulty and pulled the sharp blade out of his chest. There was no blood. Only water droplets.

"What in the world?" The hunter said. He took a step back.

Yagura got the flash right then. He was in a dark room with only one single light. The light only illuminated a metal table with a body on it. Yagura's body. It was nothing like it was no. Blood was everywhere. There was a hole in his chest where his heart should've been and a deep gash ran from under his left eye to his chin.

"He's going to die if we don't do something." A voice said. It sounded frantic.

"No, he won't. He's an important pawn in my game, I have to keep him alive." Another voice said. It was deeper and much more calm.

"What are you going to do?" The other voice asked.

"I'll have to put him back together and revive him using a forbidden jutsu. I'm going to manipulate the cells in his body and recreate the heart and the flesh around it. I will need your help, Zetsu." The deeper voice answered.

"I understand, but...how?"

"The bijuu. I'll force it's chakra to repair parts of Yagura's body. He won't have a heart anymore. Most likely it'll be a copy of the bijuu's heart. Pure chakra and a shell around it. It'll be my gift to him. In turn he is my slave." The deeper voice answered.

Yagura snapped back into reality. He took a shaky breath. His heart wasn't even a heart. The one controlling him had saved him from death but he lost a human quality that every single one of them had. A heart. He was as much a monster as the one inside him.

Yagura felt anger bubbling up inside him. Anger at everything happening around him. Because of this mystery ninja that had been controlling him, he's in this situation, trying to find his memory, risking his life to do it. It's because of the fifth Mizukage and this hunter ninja that he was in danger. It's because of the monster inside of him that he was here in the first place.

Yagura screamed, louder than he had ever screamed before. He let out everything he had been feeling in one loud screech. He felt suddenly warm, rthe ice was melting and a red bubbly cloak was forming around him.

But it was going much further than that. As soon as the bijuu chakra cloak was done, his skin began to peel, it was a weird feeling that wasn't painful, but wasn't enjoyable at all. It felt as if his own body was peeling away. Instead something strong and dangerous replaced it. His figure was slim and skinny but the red and black layer of chakra was closed tightly around his skin. His eyes and mouth was an empty white but a look of aggresion was painted on his face. His three tails were in a flat and rectangular shape. He was on all fours in a stance similar to a turtle. His hair had been hard to spot but a spiky tuft on the top of his head. There was something similar to spikes the pointed downward like a beard on Yagura's chin.

He was in full control and he had never felt stronger.

Naruto's POV

Bee didn't make a difference. Sure he was useful when he fought but him and Naruto's combined strength didn't even faze Kisame.

"Isn't that sweet. You both think you have a chance..." Kisame teased. That only angered Naruto more. All he felt like punching the cocky bastard right in the face without holding back.

"You...you..." Naruto tried to find one word to say but too many ran through his head. The man from Kumogakure he'd met put a hand on his shoulder. Naruto looked up at the man. He had a calm expression and the swords in his hands definetly helped for intimidation. He looked scary and confident in his abilities.

"Calm down, _bro!_ Don't go so _low!_" He said with a smile on his face. Naruto wasn't amused. Apparently this guy was trying to be a rapper of some sorts. Naruto didn't think the guy had many fans.

"Oh! A jinchuuriki who's a musician. That's an interesting combination." Kisame commented.

"Why don't you go and fuck yourself over you stupid fish!" Naruto shouted.

He formed the sign for the doppelganger technique and created multiple clones of himself all over the forest. Sakura and Sai looked around, amazed by the amount he was able to create.

"I'll blow you into your little water bubble up there and send you to the moon!" Naruto continued.

Naruto began to create several rasengans. His clones followed his lead and a pair of two created one rasengan. Eventually all you could Naruto could see was himself and several balls of chakra. The others around him looked stunned.

"Sage Art: Massive Rasengan Barrage!" Naruto shouted and began to run toward Kisame who was weaving signs as Naruto ran.

Naruto didn't even have a chance to brush Kisame. The huge bubble of water above them descended and collided with the group. Several clones, taken by surprised turned into a cloud of smoke, even the rasengan Naruto had created was gone. It was too quick to register in Naruto's mind. He was running first, the air hitting his face and moving to the side. Then the air entering Naruto's mouth turned into water and his movements slowed as his body was sucked into the water. The sudden change in the environment had caught Naruto off guard and all of a sudden he was sucking in water. The light had dimmed and Naruto could see around him the others were struggling in the water.

Kisame just floated in the middle, not even bothered by the water. Naruto was at a huge disadvantage. With that blade of his, he could probably cut through him easily in one slice.

"What's wrong? I guess foxes don't like the water." Kisame said. He began to move as swiftly as a shark. He moved his body from side to side his hands immobile. His sword seemed to swim underneath him like a sort of surfing board.

Naruto tried to speak but his consciousness was quickly fading. The water was filling up his lungs and he desperately grabbed for his neck. _As if that will help..._Naruto thought as he flailed around. The rapper guy was swimming behind Kisame though. Not too far behind. Naruto realized with bewilderment that he had three octopus tails sticking out. But neither the rapper or Naruto could have done anything.

Kisame swam above Naruto and began to descend, Samehada in hand. Naruto closed his eyes and prepared for the worst.

Then a voice, all too familiar screamed, "TATSUUGA!"

And the water bubble exploded.

Roshi's POV

Roshi decided that now was the time to act. It hadn't taken him long to gather up enough chakra to fight back. What he was worried about was the man's genjutsu. He had to be extremely careful, it was like he was walking on ice. If he made one wrong move he'd be stuck in the freezing water. No chance of getting out.

Roshi had thought about weaving signs, using Earth Release so that he could get rid of the clone but that was too risky. Weaving signs were too flashy, they'd be easily seen. So now he had to figure out how to do this. He needed the perfect timing so that he could escape and keep himself unharmed. So Roshi decided to light himself on fire. He had control over the Lava Release so that he could create a sort of flaming shield around himself.

He remembered the first time he'd tried to do that. It was about thirty years ago when Iwagakure was just teaching him about being a jinchuuriki.

That was the first time Roshi had killed someone. It was accidental but still he didn't like the fact that it was his fault. After all his father had always told him never to play with fire. Well him and his father did that exact thing. Now one of them was dead.

_No, don't dwell on it, Roshi. You have a mission. A mission you need to complete._ Roshi said to himself. He had more control over it now. Either way, he figured this guy wouldn't be stupid enough to touch him. He hadn't even spoken since Roshi was captured. So Roshi began to flow the chakra he had through out his body. The technique was sort of like weaving signs mentally. Once he did that the Earth and Fire chakra's within him fused together and he had to push it to the outside parts of his body. It required an advanced level of chakra control.

Roshi began to fuse the chakra in him. He'd normally use this to create balls of lava but this time it was different. He moved the chakra outwards and created a flaming shield around himself. His long sleeved shirt burst into flames along with his pants and black open-toed boots. His red hair was just a ball of fire now.

What Roshi didn't expect was what the clone was. His confidence exploded into nothing along with the explosive clone.

Yugito's POV

She was still running. The adrenaline pumping through her blood and giving her more stamina. Daylight was beginning to fade as it slowly went west. Yugito didn't want to be alone or tired when night finally hit. The snow that had begun to fall would be a problem though. It would slow her down and it wouldn't be long before she was completely cold and freezing her ass off.

By taking quick glimpses at the land around her, she decided she was in the Land of Frost probably running straight through the middle based on the amount of snow she was seeing. It was a small country but the ninja who inhabited the land were said to have a lot of clans posessing Kekkei Genkai. _I hope they're friendlies._ Yugito hoped to herself. But if she knew her geography well then Shimogakure wasn't that far away. If it was then she could possibly find refuge there before dusk.

"Come on, Yugito. Push it, you can make it." Yugito whispered to herself. She'd started to wish she had worn clothes that were more sensible in this kind of weather. Her black and purple blouse was too light and her pants and sandals didn't do a lot to keep her legs from feeling cold. At least the fingerless gloves she wore kept parts of her hand warm. Her hands were a different story.

Yugito stopped abruptly to catch her breath. She'd probably traveled a good five miles just to get away from the Akatsuki. She leaned against a tree and released the band holding her hair back. It fell all around her reaching past her shoulder blades and giving her a little bit more warmth. Her nose was stuffy she was starting to show signs of frostbite. At least her pain from the crash had ceased to hurt her.

She thought about making a fire. It was a bit darker than she had liked since the clouds had almost completely blocked out the sun. But whether there was sun or not, the Land of Frost was always cold and always covered in snow. She fired a ball of fire onto the ground and it turned into a buzzing flame, bright and alive. She reminded herself to thank Matatabi for being a fire cat.

She hated it out here. She wanted to be back in Kumogakure where she was safer. She wanted to be with her squad, teaching them all of her tips and tricks. She wanted so many things but couldn't have any of them. Just because she was a jinchuuriki.

_I hope you're not planning on blaming me for everything, Yugito. _Matatabi said, freeing Yugito from her thoughts.

_I don't. I'm not stupid. It's all their faults. _Yugito replied as she curled up and hugged her knees, her head down.

_You shouldn't blame anyone. Fate did this to you. You can't really change anything. _Matatabi said.

_Yeah, well fate is the biggest bastard I've ever heard of. _

_Yugito...I must ask you a question. A long time ago I hated humans. I hated them because I thought they were fools, trying to control us and keep us in chains. It's why I drove most jinchuuriki crazy. But you...you've showed me that not all humans are terrible people. You put up with me for nineteen years of your life. We're no longer enemies fighting for dominance. We're partners. But...Yugito...are you glad that you are a jinchuuriki?_

Yugito took in a quick breath. She was stunned. She'd never asked herself that question either. She had lived her life and learned to deal with it. It was either that or let it eat her up. But as she sat in the melting snow she tried to find an answer.

_I don't know, Matatabi. I just don't know anymore._


	10. Chapter 10

_ Last chapter was an extra long one, but I just wanted to go to Yugito before I finished. This one did take a while to finish, I was thinking about what to do and decided to try and make this the worst chapter I've created. _

Utakata's POV

Utakata finally spotted him. Koene and Hotaru. He was pushing Hotaru into a small rowing boat. Two men guarding his back. Utakata gritted his teeth and tried to find some way to approach him without getting killed. Most of the hunter ninja were good with weapons and long-distance fighting. They were silent killers you could say. Koene was one of many leaders. Each hunter general led a group of hunter ninja to hunt different rogue ninja. Of course this included Utakata as well. Hotaru was only bait. If he could get them away from her and try to kill Koene he could win this without too much damage.

"You son of a bitch! Let me go!" Hotaru shouted.

"Why don't you shut up you stupid bitch! You're only here so that we can lure your little boyfriend out here. After that you're dead, brat." Koene retaliated.

Hotaru was quiet.

"Boss don't you think we should move out? It doesn't look like the jinchuuriki is coming." One of them men said.

"No...don't you hear that? The screaming? The cries for help? He's coming...he's coming..." Koene confirmed.

The other two hunters looked doubtful but they listened to him anyway. Utakata looked around at the area. They were at the edge of a beach. Hotaru tied up and sitting in the middle of the boat was silent and crying softly. The other ninja were waiting around for Utakata to show up on the beach.

If they wanted him so badly, they would get him. Utakata hopped down from the tree he was hiding in and emerged from the forest, his bubble blower in hand. As soon as he was visible the hunters turned and stared at Utakata. The two guards had surprised faces. Koene seemed to be a bit too happy to see Utakata.

"Well, well. You made short work of my men didn't you?" He said, walking towards him.

"I don't have time for your little side comments. Just let Hotaru go and I'll go with you." Utakata reasoned.

"I'm no idiot, Utakata. Your ass is going to be dead in just about a few seconds. The girl can die along with you." Koene said.

"Wait, boss. That's not our orders! We're supposed to capture him not kill him!" One of the guards said. Koene brought out his kunai and threw it at the guard. It hit his forehead and the ninja slumped to the ground. Blood leaking from his wound. Koene turned to the other guard.

"Any other comments, Posotame?" Koene said as he turned to Posotame. He shook his head quickly and Koene smiled.

"I don't give a damn about the rules anymore. You've cause enough trouble." Koene said.

"Fine. Let's make this harder than it has to be." Utakata said as he began to weave signs.

"Water Style: Great Cascade Jutsu!" Utakata shouted firing a ball of water into the air. It began to fall down but Koene dodged it throwing multiple shuriken at Utakata.

Utakata ducked just in time to avoid a shuriken aimed for his head. However it left him open. Koene had time to deliver a kick to the side of his face. Utakata skidded across the sand. Koene with fast movements punched Utakata in the stomach causing blood to erupt from his mouth.

Koene then grabbed Utakata's feet and through him into the air. His blue robe came off revealing his skinny frame and his white pants underneath. His chest was bare and open to the cold which made him shiver as he flew through the air. His bubble blower had been lost in the initial attack and now he was weaponless. Koene through a wave of kunai and shuriken his way and Utakata had little time to defend himself. All he could do was block his face and bear through it. A kunai first hit his arm and then his stomach. Most of them just grazed Utakata. Still the wounds stung as Utakata fell onto the ground.

_Fuck...fuck...fuck..._Utakata cursed to himself. He was getting beaten and one of his only weapons was gone.

"Looking for this?" Koene asked. He revealed the bubble blower in his hands. "I figured you might need this."

Utakata looked at him and wondered if he might actually give it back. Koene smiled, "I don't believe in fair fights."

He snapped the blower in half and threw it into the boat beside Hotaru who was watching with horror.

"You...you di-" Utakata began.

He didn't have a chance to finish. Koene punched him in the stomach, winding him and then kicked him so that half of his body was submerged in water.

"What was that?" Koene asked again tauntingly.

_He's just dragging this out on purpose..._Utakata thought as blood ran down his face from his mouth. Koene began to kick him viciously. Utakata took it all in. He didn't bother trying to fight back. He would die eventually one day. Kirigakure would never leave him alone. They'd always want what is theirs and nothing else. So he might as well be rid of them here. He'd killed all those people back there...didn't he deserve to die?

"I'm done with you rogues! I'm done with all of this!" Koene cried.

He stopped kicking and held his head with his hands. He seemed to be crying and sniveling. Utakata realized just what the both of them had in common. They were both done. Done with the world they were living in.

Utakata got up. He took deep breaths. His arm must've been broken. He probably had a few broken ribs too. but still Utakata got up.

"Utakata! Enough! You don't have to do this! Just run..." Hotaru yelled from the wooden boat.

_I can't be...like him._ Utakata thought. He couldn't be like him. He had to believe there was some good left in the world or else the world would drown him in evil.

"No, Hotaru." Utakata managed to say. Hotaru was struggling to get out of the boat and stopped when she heard him speak. "Don't. I've got this."

Utakata closed his eyes. He was going to have to depend on Six-Tails for this job. He couldn't bear the thought of losing. Not to this scumbag. He connected his hands for one final sign. Then he began to build up his chakra slowly. Then he felt it. A wave of chakra oozed out of the seal and flowed throughout his body, creating a red chakra cloak that bubbled and made the air go from cold to warm in a matter of seconds.

"Holy shit..." Koene gaped. His mouth was wide as he watched Utakata walk toward him with ease. His wounds were already healing. Koene put his fingers to his mouth and whistled. It was a high pitched noise that anyone could hear if they listened well enough.

"Go ahead. Get your men over here. It won't matter, in fact it'll be great. I can finally kill you all and get rid of you!" Utakata exclaimed.

"You can go to hell." Koene said.

Utakata heard a rustle not too far from where he was standing. He looked over at the forest and saw more ninja appear. Some were wounded, parts of their skin was burnt or worse, gone completely. Some limped and were holding back tears while others were full of resentment. It was obvious they wanted to kill Utakata. _Too bad they won't get a chance, _Utakata thought with a smirk.

He held his hands out above of his head and stretched them. He focused all his chakra into creating a bubble stronger than anyone he'd ever created. It was purple and dark giving off a gloomy light. The hunters were too afraid to even speak. The whole forest was quiet as Utakata yelled and threw the ball into the forest.

Han's POV

Han had went from a nightmare to reality in seconds. Mostly because it only took one bucket of mucky water to wake him up. The first thing Han noticed was that the remains of his armor had been stripped away revealing his bulky large figure and his dark brown hair that only tickled his neck. In fact the only piece of clothing he had left was his pants. They seemed light and thin like even a bug could tear through.

The next thing Han noticed was the room. There was a single light shining above him in a circle. Anywhere outside of that circle was shrouded by darkness. The air was cold and dusty, centipedes and roaches crawled along the floor not even bothered by the man sitting on a chair in the middle of the room. His hands and legs were bound by a tight string that not even Han could break. He hated it here but there was absolutely nothing he could do.

He was all out of options so he did the most typical thing any average person would do, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

"No one but us." A voice called from the darkness.

"Who are you?" Han asked. The mystery man emerged from the darkness and Han realized it was a woman. She had long white hair that reached down past her shoulders and was wearing a t-shirt that seemed too big for her as well as a skirt to match the leaf print. She had a smile on her face but her entire face seemed coy and full of mischievousness.

"My name is Tumuka. Yours?" She answered.

Han was silent. Tumuka frowned, "Not the talkative type are we? Don't worry. I'm pretty sure I'll get something out of you when I'm done."

"Let me go." Han said with conviction. Tumuka let out a sigh.

"That's not how it works. This is the interrogation room. I need to get as much intel out of you as I can by any means necessary." She explained.

"My background has nothing to do with Sejio's daughter."

"Fool. We aren't supposed to get information on that whiny girl. We want to know everything _you _know. We don't know your name or where you even come from. You could be an assasin or a terrorist ninja."

"You aren't getting anything out of me."

"Well, we'll see." Tumuka began to circle Han's chair, "Let's start with question number one, your name, home village, and clan if you have one?"

Han only glared at the broad. Tumuka squinted and clenched her fists. "Bad dogs deserve punishment."

She disappeared into the darkness and reappeared with a kunai and a device of some sort. She planted the device on Han's chest and then punched him hard. She then began to slowly twirl the knife and drag it playfully along Han's skin. She started with his cheek, making small cuts that bled but did nothing more. She eventually went down his body and made a deep cut along his stomach.

It stung like hell, the cold air didn't help at all. She dropped the kunai and began to weave signs. She stopped at the sign of the boar and the device on Han's chest released volts of electricity. They coursed through Han's body making him cry out. It felt like sharp blades piercing every nook and cranny in his body. His head felt like exploded and his arms were flailing around. He fell off his chair and landed on the ground, the electricity still making his body tingle and hurt. She finally released the sign and let her hands drop to her sides.

"My mark had been made. If I choose to, I can electrocute you whenever I want to. Feel like talking now?" She said.

And yet Han remained quiet. Tumuka walked over to him and began to kick his chest and punch his face. The cuts all over his body sent flashes of pain all over and his body began to bleed heavily. Tumuka slowly backed away, observing the damage she'd done.

She laughed, "Are you a dumbass? This is just going to go on and on and on until you either die or answer my questions! The pain...the torture. It will _never_ end. As long as I live," She shook her head, "You suffer."

Naruto's POV

Naruto had never been happier to see the fool faced egomaniac and his dumb mutt in his entire life. Naruto was lying in a pool of blood and water mixed together. His clothes were wet and stuck to his skin. He was coughing violently, seawater drooling from his mouth. He looked around, Sakura and Sai were nowhere to be seen. Only the rapper was left and he was lying on the grass, unresponsive. Kiba was standing in front of Naruto to protect him while Akamaru whined and rubbed his head against Kiba. Kisame was nowhere to be seen.

"Kiba?" Naruto said still wondering if he was imagining things.

"Who do you think I am you dunce?" Kiba responded. "Lady Tsunade sent us out to go help you. We would've gotten here sooner but Akamaru had to take a few bathroom breaks."

"Us?" Naruto asked. He looked around but saw no one. He figured they must have been hiding somewhere. He realized with shock that Hinata must've come as well. She was in danger if she stepped in and intervened just like the fight with Pain.

He didn't want to think about what might happen if she made the same move.

"Kiba, this guy outclasses you. Get Hinata and Shino and leave before you die." Naruto told Kiba.

The boy just snickered, "Naruto, you have to be kidding me. There's no way I'm going to leave, not even if this guy was the Hokage. I'm helping you whether you like it or not."

Naruto frowned, "You don't understand..."

"No you don't understand! I don't give a damn about what you think! For once, Naruto...can I at least try to make a difference? To help someone just once? I'm tired of being the second wheel. I'm always in your shadow but I _know _I'll eventually have my own." Kiba shouted. "Give me a chance, I'm not as weak as you think."

Naruto was speechless. Never had he thought that Kiba would pour his thoughts out to Naruto like that. He was always putting on an act, trying to puff up his pride and make himself look cool, instead Kiba showed something he never showed, vulnerability.

Kiba took the silence as a surrender and sighed. Naruto looked around for Kisame but only saw green. The Akatsuki member finally showed himself, walking out of the shady forest. Naruto locked his eyes on the body he was holding. It was Sai. Naruto flinched and wondered if he was dead.

Kisame threw the body onto the grass carelessly, Sai rolled over onto his back and stared up at the sky. Naruto noticed with relief that his body was trembling and that he was coughing. Naruto began to ran over to Sai but was cut off by the fast moving Kisame. His sword in hand, he aimed at Naruto's wound who jumped up into the air to avoid the incoming strike. Kiba began to move as well.

"Man Beast Taijutsu! Down On All Fours Technique!" He said.

Chakra surrounded his hands and feet as well as Akamaru's paws. The two of them moved so fast that they were two blurs moving with grace. All you could see was claw marks in the dirt showing that they were coming toward you. As Naruto watched. The two of them collided with Kisame who was holding his sword up in defense. They jumped backwards to avoid Kisame's slice.

What Kisame didn't see was the blow from behind. Hinata had appeared, jumping from one of the trees.

"Gentle Fist!" She shouted as her palm collided with Kisame's back. His knees collapsed and he flew into the ground face first. Naruto picked up Sai and slung his arm around his neck. He dragged him across the ground.

"Come on, Sai. Don't die now." He whispered as he laid him on the ground. "I'm sorry if I was a jerk when we met. You just pissed me off so much."

Sai looked at him with emptiness in his eyes, "I understand. It's not that much of a big deal."

Sai coughed again. Naruto wished Sakura were here. Wherever she was he hoped she was anything but dead. She was more than a medic, she was...Naruto couldn't dwell on it. She loved Sasuke. It ended there. He looked at the battle and was amazed. Hinata and Kiba seemed to be holding their own. Akamaru had a iron grip on Kisame's neck while Hinata attacked him with Gentle Fist. Kiba and her took turns on the beating. But something was wrong. Kisame's _sword_ was gone. Naruto couldn't spot it anywhere. He suddenly got up with sudden alarm staring at the ground.

He heard a cry right then. His head looked up and he saw the next events in slow motion. At first it was all safe, Kisame seemed to be completely tired and beaten, his nose and mouth bleeding while the two members of Team 8 pummeled him.

Then the ground moved underneath Kisame and rocks, dirt, and sand flew into the air. It was Samehada. The weird sword had a mind of its own. It was _swallowing _Kisame. But Kiba and Akamaru weren't moving. The sword completely swallowed up Kisame.

Naruto could only watch in horror as Kiba's right arm came off and Akamaru's paws were chopped off.


	11. Chapter 11

_I'm wondering if I'll be able to finish this before Monday. Thank god Thanksgiving is this week so I'll have more time to upload chapters._

Gaara's POV

The minute the sand had moved, Gaara's hopes went upwards. His chances of surviving were high again. He was going to go back to his village. The sand went directly through the hollow hole that made the birds eyes and began to coat the ceiling. It pushed upwards, stretching the clay. Gaara could barely make out Deidara's voice.

"What the hell?" He said.

Gaara smiled just as the sand broke the top of the bird off carrying Deidara with it. The bird stopped flapping its wings and soared in the air for a couple of seconds. In that seconds he could he Deidara cry out and scream as he fell through the air. Gaara had nothing to hold onto as he was separated from clay bird that fell faster than him. But Gaara's control over the sand had improved over the years. It moved quickly to stop him from falling and meeting a gruesome death. It formed a platform that Gaara could easily move on. He gathered the leftover sand and recreated his gourd completely filled with sand.

Gaara watched as the bottom portion of the clay bird fell to the ground and exploded as it hit the ground. Gaara let out the breath he had been holding and sat up on the sand. He didn't bother looking down, he didn't want to know if Deidara was alive or not. He felt the strong need to crush the monster into several pieces and make sure he never came back but he needed to have control, blood would only bring out the inner demon, Shukaku.

"Did you really think you could get away? Hm?" He heard a familiar voice say. He turned and saw Deidara sitting on a clay eagle. His mouth was drawn into a grin and blonde hair moved back and forth due to the strong winds from Suna. Gaara could see on his left eye that it was mechanical and most likely used for locating enemies.

"I probably should have killed you the first time we had met." Gaara confessed.

"I should've blown your arms and legs off. " Deidara mumbled.

Gaara took some sand from his gourd and willed it to go after Deidara while his guard was down. Deidara came back to reality and the eagle descended, avoiding the wave of sand.

"I'm going to kill you!" Deidara shouted. He threw an onslaught of clay birds at Gaara which he guarded against using a sand shield. Gaara formed sand kunai and sand shuriken which he threw back at Deidara.

Deidara's bird moved again, this time beginning to circle Gaara strategically as if he were prey. Deidara had his hands out, feeling the air. Gaara noticed with curiosity that _tongues_ were sticking out from his hands.

_He makes clay using mouths on his hands? They obviously have chakra, but what makes them detonate?_ Gaara wondered. But still this was odd. Deidara wasn't making any clay figures to attack Gaara.

"Shit! I'm out of chakra." Deidara cursed. He reached into his back pouch and through shuriken at Gaara.

Gaara remembered one of the instructions that Bake had told him about when training him for the Kazekage's position.

"In any case, there's going to be an enemy that wants to get you away from the village for several reasons. It could be that they want you for money or to lower the morale of the shinobi in this village," Baki had explained. "But in any case you need to know when you're about to walk right into a trap, diversions are one of the many tools a ninja can use."

Gaara realized what was going on just as the shuriken hit the wall of sand behind him. It was just a diversion. Deidara was making something to kill Gaara for sure. He remembered the tiny little clay figurines that had made their way into Gaara's sand without him noticing and looked at Deidara. On his face was the same grin he had started with.

Gaara got up onto his feet and let himself balance on the edge of the sand. _This is crazy, literally crazy, but the sand will prevent me from dying. It has to. _Gaara thought. There were bombs in the air. There could be bombs all around him for all Gaara knew. But he could no longer be airborne.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and fell through the sky.

_Yagura's POV_

Yagura was well aware of the beast inside him and what power it held. He knew that much. In fact when it came to his past, Three-Tails was the only thing that he could guarantee to exist. But Yagura never expected that so much strength could come out of this monster.

But Yagura couldn't speak, he couldn't say a word. All he could do was make a loud screeching sound whenever he tried to say anything. He guessed the hunter ninja was more than shocked by this transformation.

"You...you monster..." The hunter said as he began to make signs in a hurry.

Yagura moved in a flash. He jumped and curled his four legs around the hunter's body. He heard several cracks and snaps of bones breaking. The loudest sound was the hunter's own cries. Yagura then moved his head so that he was facing the hunter. He blasted him point blank with a beam of chakra so that the mask came flying off. The hunter hit the ground and looked up at Yagura.

Yagura moved over to him and grabbed his legs, first lifting him up then slamming him back down on the ground. The man was barely alive. His skin was burnt in some places but was purple and white in others. Signs of frostbite. Yagura knew it wasn't that cold. What he felt was a cold touch on his "skin" that made him shiver a little. It was like the air touched him and then withdrew for a while.

But Yagura couldn't imagine what this man was truly feeling. His eyes didn't show the slightest bit of fear. He had accepted death. He knew he was going to die.

Yagura then moved. Yagura tried to stop himself but he moved, he was no longer in control of himself. All he could do was watch through his own eyes as his claws dug into the man's chest. He watched as ice seemed to spread from his hands and completely cover the man's chest.

He watched as his hands pierced the hunter's heart and ripped it out for him to see.

_Fu's POV_

Fu sat at the dinner table. The evening sun was about to set, casting an orange glow that seeped through the giant tree. She loved when the sun went down and the fireflies came out for her to see. Their glow was bright but it never lasted forever. It came in flashes.

But the fireflies never came out in this godforsaken village.

Her father sat at the head of the table next to her mother. Fu had explained what she had done although she left the part out about Chomei going on a rampage and her mother had cried the whole time. In the end her mother had asked her why she left in the first place. Fu couldn't answer. She feared if she told her mother the truth, she could never look her in the eye and say, _I love you_ again.

But Fu had more important things to worry about. She had no idea where Han was. Most likely he was being interrogated underneath the city where the water from the waterfall was cleansed but she had no idea how to locate him. She knew she couldn't really find a way to escape this place without finding Han. She brought him here in the first place. There was just so many things she didn't know if she could do. Parting with her mother was one thing, but was it worth it if she had freedom?

Fu sighed and rubbed her head with her hands. Until she had a plan, there was no way she could even attempt to find Han. Her father was cold and calculating. He always considered every factor before he made a decision. He would have guards around the palace 24/7 and people watching Fu while she slept. Fu had tried to run away before just for the sake of finding her old home. After he father had gotten her back, he had blocked off her door and windows with wood and posted guards in front of her door.

But she knew she could figure out a way to escape. She'd been through worse. _The worst is yet to come,_ she thought as four men walked through the door. Behind them was a woman. Her father had told Fu that four very important people were coming for a dinner to discuss political things and he specified that if Fu acted out that her "little friend" wouldn't live to see the sun rise. So she obeyed.

The four men sit down. They all looked official with their long kimono's that hid their hands. Their features all differed, one had short brown hair and a round chubby face. Another one looked fierce and dangerous with their spiky black hair and their pointy nose and chin. She realized it was the hunter leader from before. He smiled kindly at her but Fu didn't bother to smile back. She felt like cutting off that stupid grin from his face and kicking him out of Takigakure.

The other two were noticeable. One man looked old and he had his hair spiked upwards to give himself a stern look. The other man with his fair hair looked cautious. The woman on the other hand looked elegant and dainty. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a ponytail revealing silver hoop earrings. She had a dress with a floral pattern on it that reached down to the ground.

Fu remained quiet as they relaxed and asked the servants for tea and other appetizers.

"Sejio! How are things going in Takigakure?" One of the men asked.

"Good, Suien. How are things in the Land of Lakes?"

"Good enough, although it could be better. Kurikazo isn't very happy though." Suien said with a chuckle.

The man that appeared to be Kurikazo, the hunter leader, was smiling and his eyes were locked on Fu. She suddenly felt very aware of his gaze on her and began to poke the steak on her plate.

"Kurikazo?" Suien said, shaking the man. He blinked and looked at the others.

"Sorry, I was just a bit in a dazed. Your daughter is quite captivating. Her chakra is quite large."

"A bit too large if you asked me." The woman said.

Fu had several words she felt like saying to the woman at that moment. But improper language wouldn't do good for Han would it?

"Oh, Fu...Yuma...allow me to introduce everyone to you." Fu's father said. He pointed to Kurikazo and Suien, "You know these two. Suien is the village head in the Land of Lakes, Kurikazo is the leader of my own hunter ninja."

He waved his hand at the chubby and fair-haired one, "This is Bakaro and Doeji. Both of them lead the Land of Rivers."

"The beautiful lady over there is Sirukre, she's Suien's wife." Fu's father said again. Fu caught a feeling in his voice. Normally he acted politely and was flawless no matter what he did. This time, she heard admiration and maybe something more for Sirukre.

"It's a pleasure to be here Sejio," Sirukre said. "After all, the Land of Lakes rarely has a chance to meet with you over here in the village. How is your wife and daughter?"

She spoke as if Fu and her mother didn't even exist. Looks like Fu had another person to add to her list of soon-to-be-dead-people.

"Well, my wife is doing fine. Better than I expected. After all, my daughter has returned to me like I expected." He answered.

"Ah, I am a bit disappointed about the Land of Streams. They've burnt down and almost nothing is left but a wasteland." Suien commented looking at Fu with anger.

"I'm sorry, forgive my daughter. Jinchuuriki are the hardest to control." Fu's father apologized.

"At least Konohagakure was kind enough to give us Chomei. Not that it helped our relationship. But still you want your daughter and mother to be in on a war conference?" Suien said.

"This is about Fu after all isn't it?" Her father pointed out.

"Speaking of Konohagakure, what shall we do about the coming war? They can't possibly expect us to participate. Risking our lives...so what? The Akatsuki can go kill off the shinobi of today. We will thrive." Doeji said.

"That is to be determined. After all, Kurikazo has gathered some information on the Akatsuki and the summit." Her father said. He looked at Kurikazo. "Would you like to explain, Kurikazo?"

"Well, as you have stated before, this is all about Fu. The Akatsuki want in their possession all nine of the bijuu. All of them are sealed within humans from the Shinobi nations." Kurikazo explained. "Two from Kumo, one from Konoha, one from Suna, two from Iwa, and two from Kiri. All of them have either gone rogue or are treated as equals among their respected nations. But in our possession is one of the strongest jinchuuriki. Seven-Tails. That gives us time if they're working their way up."

"But the question is, what shall we do about her?" Suien intervened.

"We could lock her up and keep her away from the Akatsuki." Bakaro suggested.

"Are you an idiot? A little jail cell won't stop the Akatsuki from hunting the girl." Sirukre criticized.

Fu couldn't even think straight. All that was going through her head was that they were treating her like an object. A weapon that they could utilize or destroy. It's as if she was only a burden to them. _Maybe the Akatsuki should take me away. Being dead is better than this._ Fu thought with regret. Even still there was a part of her that wished it were true. That she was truly dead. She wouldn't have to look her mother in the eye and pretend she loved her life just for her. She wouldn't have to put up with her father. She wouldn't have to deal with any of this.

She didn't choose this life. They chose it for her. From the beginning she'd had no control over her destiny. Even now Fu could do nothing.

And she hated everyone and everything for it.

"They'll destroy this tree, they'll destroy the Land of Lakes, the Land of Rivers, everything! Just to get this girl!" Sirukre shouted.

"Well what do you propose we do?" Suien asked.

Sirukre smiled, "Easy. We make a deal with those bastards. If we give them Fu, they have to leave us alone during the war."H He


	12. Chapter 12

_ This story has gotten a lot more followers than I had imagined...just want to thank you all for following and favoriting, it may not seem like a lot but it's a lot for me. Happy Thanksgiving!_

Bee's POV

The fight had been dragged out too long. A had taught Bee that fights that took too long often ended badly. Well if Bee ever saw him again, he would tell him he was right. Bee had watched as he struggled to his feet, the boy named Kiba and his dog being handicapped. Their howls were louder than anything Bee had ever heard. But what Bee was really shocked about was Kisame. His sword had literally eaten him up. It was the only thing that remained of Kisame. Bee couldn't tell if the guy was hiding in it or if he was performing some kind of jutsu.

_Bee, this isn't looking good. We don't have a lot of chakra left! _Gyuki reminded Bee.

_I got this, bro. _Bee said back. He knew he didn't have a chance in the world of beating anyone the way he was now.

_Stop holding your chin up so high. You're not invulnerable, Bee. _Gyuki said, calling his bluff.

_What do you want me to do? Give up? I'm not a wuss. _Bee argued.

_Listen, I'm just putting the well being of us before anyone else. I hate to be a jerk but Bee, there's nothing you can do._ Gyuki retorted.

Bee was silent. Gyuki had made his point. Bee was going to die if he stuck around. But he had a duty as a ninja. He didn't have his swords left so whenever Kisame came out, close distance was a risky option. He would use his ink producing abilities to hide and then strike.

Bee watched as the blonde-haired boy ran to his friends, screaming.

"Kiba! Kiba!" He shouted.

The girl that had joined them was frozen staring at the howling Kiba. Bee began to run towards them.

_Bee! Stop!_ Gyuki ordered.

Bee ignored him and pressed onwards. He slid to a stop nearby the Konoha ninja and kneeled next to Kiba.

"Oh my god! My hand! Akamaru! Fuck!" Kiba shouted. He was thrashing around and holding his hand. Blood was spraying everywhere.

"Kiba...please...calm down." The other boy said. He had his hands in the air but was still deciding what to do.

"Naruto!" Another voice called. Bee turned and saw the pink-haired girl limping towards them. There were several scratches on her body and her clothes were torn. She stopped when she saw Kiba.

"Oh my god...what...what happened?" She asked.

"Please! Help him, Sakura!" Naruto cried. The girl stumbled over to them and kneeled next to Kiba.

"Hold him down." Sakura ordered.

Bee and Naruto held Kiba down by his shoulders, his legs were still moving and he was still shouting curses at Kisame and the world.

"Not me! Not me! Akamaru...my dog...help him." Kiba pleaded.

"We'll get to him. Just wait okay? Just calm down. Can you do that?" Sakura asked.

Kiba nodded and stopped moving. His body still shivered and he was biting his lower lip. Sakura moved her hands to Kiba's bleeding arm and a white glow began to come from her hands. _She's a medical ninja. _Bee realized. Kiba's growls turned into whimpers.

"What are you gonna do about the dog?" Bee questioned. Sakura looked him in the eye angrily.

"I don't know okay? It's all your damn fault that his arms got cut off. You should've led Kisame _away_ from the village." Sakura said.

Bee frowned, "Chill, girl. I didn't mean to."

Sakura gritted her teeth and turned her attention back to Kiba, "Go check on the dog." She said to Bee.

"I'm going to go and help Hinata." Naruto said. He went over to the pale eyed girl that was now sobbing quietly.

Bee nodded and got up. As quickly as he got to his feet, he noticed that Samehada was gone. It should've been behind Sakura but there was nothing there. Bee paused. The dog was gone too.

"What's wrong? I told you to check on the dog." Sakura complained.

"It's not there. Neither is the sword." Bee explained.

Sakura turned. Bee watched her as she turned back to Kiba. Her eyes were wide. Bee looked around. The clearing they were in was surrounded by forest. Although it was a large area, the only thing there was mostly grass and dirt. There was no way the sword could've gotten away in a matter of minutes. The moon had risen into the air casting it's bright glow. It was hard to see but Bee finally spotted what he was really looking for.

A hole.

Utakata's POV

Utakata no longer had a need for the bubble blower. Fortunately he could make bubbles right from his hands. Unfortunately the hunters couldn't.

Utakata began to fire bubbles into the forest with no letup. They exploded into acidic clouds and liquids. He heard the hunters screams but he didn't stop. He continued until he could barely see into the forest. Koene was speechless. His mouth was open and his eyes were wide. He stared into the forest.

"Do you see what I can do? Do you see the power I hold? I'm tired of you and your stupid hunters. I could stop now. I _could._ But I won't." Utakata said. "I'm not sparing you. You deserve death."

Utakata slowly walked over to Koene. His chakra cloak still bubbling and filling him with confidence. Koene took a step backwards. His hands came up to shield himself from what was coming.

"Listen...I'm sorry. Just don't kill me. I have a family...I'm only doing this for money!" Koene cried.

Somewhere deep inside Utakata, he felt immense guilt and regret. _I need to stop._ He thought.

His legs kept walking.

Utakata could no longer lie to himself. He knew that this was what he truly wanted. To get rid of Koene and his hunter gang. Then he'd go back to Kirigakure and kill the rest of the hunters. That was his mission to complete.

"Stop! Please!" Koene begged.

Utakata punched him in the jaw. Hard enough to cause a few teeth to come out. Utakata placed his foot on Koene's chest and put weight onto Koene's chest. He cried out and moaned.

Utakata moved his foot off of Koene's chest. He saw a glimmer of hope in the man's eyes.

It quickly faded as Utakata closed his hand around Koene's face. He lifted the man up. Without hesitation he began to create acid on his hand. It touched Koene's face and he began to flail out. His hands clawed at Utakata's arm. They were burnt by the chakra cloak he had.

His eyes were fixed on Utakata. Despair and pain were easily visible in his eyes. But Utakata wasn't about to stop.

His hand moved to Koene's chest. He reared his arm back and delivered a final blow to Koene.

His acid covered hand went directly through Koene chest and blood flew from Koene's mouth. Utakata watched as Koene fell to the ground in a pool of blood. The light in his eyes went out and he stopped twitching.

Utakata let out the breath he had been unintentionally holding in. His chakra cloak began to fade until nothing was left. Utakata fell to his knees suddenly exhausted. He looked over to the boat that Hotaru was floating in. The girl was frozen and staring at Utakata. Utakata looked over at what he'd done and almost threw up. _I didn't want to...it was a mistake. _Utakata tried to convince himself but it was to no avail. Koene's body was proof. The smoky forest was proof. He had done what the people from his home had always been afraid of. He'd murdered several people. He was a monster.

_I have a family,_ He remembered Koene saying. He remembered the men screaming as Utakata fired acidic bubbles at them.

_This is what you wanted. _He heard a voice say in his mind. _You wanted to be alone, you wanted Koene's men dead. You wanted him dead. You are to blame for what's happened here. I just helped you._

Utakata began to think that he was going crazy. That all this bloodshed had hit him like a powerful wind. Impossible to defend against. His conscious couldn't take it.

_Utakata, I am anything but what you see me as. I'm the one that's kept you alive when your master attempted to kill you. I'm the one who gave you the powers that allowed you to save Hotaru. My name is Saiken, I'm the bijuu sealed within you._

Roshi's POV

The first thing that went through Roshi's head as the clone exploded was that he was going to die. The explosion would blast him into nothing and end his life right there.

But he survived.

Roshi opened his eyes and coughed. He rubbed his eyes as the moon shined down on him. There was little light but enough to see. He looked around, he was lying in a crater created by the clone. The Akatsuki member was nowhere to be seen. _Maybe he was caught up in the blast. _Roshi suggested to himself. He didn't believe it one bit. He quickly got to his feet and raised his guard ready for an attack from all directions. He looked around and saw something unusual.

Black flames were on the trees that surrounded the path. It looked the same as normal fire and gave off a strong heat. Roshi had never seen anything like it before except for years ago during the Third Great Ninja War. Iwa had sent their only jinchuuriki to fight against forces of the Uchiha. One of the ninja with their weird ocular powers had created black flames and almost killed Roshi. He had a permanent burn on his shoulder from that time. But Roshi had never seen them ever again except for now.

He heard a shout from somewhere inside the forest. It screamed, "Sasuke!"

Out of the dense forest came a young man with a katana in his hand. He was looking behind him and slid into the crater. Roshi didn't move. He was almost immediately stunned. The boy that lay on the ground couldn't have been older than 17. Roshi ducked just in time as the fireball flew overhead.

"What in the world?" Roshi asked the boy. He looked back at Roshi with the same eyes the Akatsuki guy had. They were a pure red with black marks on a ring around the pupil. Roshi quickly averted his eyes. He knew enough about this ocular art that it was caused some sort of genjutsu.

As soon as the fire overheard ceased, the boy that was probably named Sasuke ran away, yelling. Roshi crawled out of the crater cautiously dumbstruck by what had happened. It was no doubt that the Akatsuki and the boy were members of the prestigious Uchiha clan. They must've been fighting for a reason Roshi didn't know of. All he knew was that getting out of here was his main priority, or else he might meet an unfortunate end.

Yugito's POV

Yugito sat down on the leather chair and let out a deep sigh. It was unforgettably cold in the Land of Frost but that didn't stop business at all in Shimogakure. People at other tables chatted about the missions they'd completed or the kids they had. It was a peaceful setting. Despite being surrounded by complete strangers it was better than being strangled or cut up by two immortal maniacs.

"Excuse me, miss?" She heard the waitress ask, "Would you like to order?"

"Just give me tea please." Yugito replied. The waitress smiled and went away to get her tea. Yugito rubbed her temples and opened the map she'd bought at one of the general stores. She had been mostly accurate. She was in the Land of Frost just about in the middle near the coast. There were several small towns and villages that would lead to her destination, Konohagakure. She couldn't go back to Kumogakure, that would be too predictable. She had to cross the Land of Hot Water to pass through in order to reach Konoha. They had the ANBU which would be more effective in hunting down the Akatsuki.

She had never ventured this far off when given missions by Kumo. The Raikage had always wanted to keep her as close to the village as possible. Now that she was here, she felt a sense of freedom, like bindings being broken. There was no Raikage to boss her around. No squad to look after. All she had was herself and Matatabi.

To her, that was more than enough.

Yugito traced her hand along the borders of Shimogakure. One of the Daimyo lived here although Yugito didn't know exactly where. They might be able to help her but they might make the situation worse. She would be better off by herself anyway.

_Yugito, _Matatabi said. _I feel like something is wrong. I'm restless and I can't maintain my chakra frequency._

Yugito didn't feel anything other than cold, _What is it?_

_The other bijuu. My brothers and sisters. Something is wrong._

Yugito immediately thought of Bee. _Bee, he's a jinchuuriki. Is he in trouble?_

_Konoha...I think he's in Konohagakure._

_Matatabi?_

_Allow me to rest, Yugito. Just please, don't waste much time. Hurry and get to Konohagakure._

Yugito almost said something back but decided to keep quiet. Her mind couldn't stop itself from thinking about Bee. They'd been close friends ever since he had become a jinchuuriki. The both of them had shared the pain of being neglected by their village. Losing their parents. Yugito's decision to leave him and undergo a rigorous training program to learn more about being a jinchuuriki did several things to their relationship. The next time Yugito ever saw him was when she was promoted to jonin. They hadn't even talked, she guessed that Bee had become one of the Raikage's bodyguards like Darui. Either way she'd felt guilty about leaving him behind just to improve herself. Maybe it was better that way, but if she'd never become jonin, she wouldn't have gone down into the sewers to inspect the area as a mission. She wouldn't have been stabbed and locked up with two immortal guys and she wouldn't have been here.

Yugito was brought from her thoughts as a cup of tea was placed on the map. Yugito flinched and looked up. It wasn't the waitress she saw.

"Are you Yugito Nii?" The man asked. His body was cloaked and his eyes were pupiless and green. Something was wrong with him, Yugito knew that much.

"Who's asking?" Yugito asked.

The man smiled and placed his hand on his forehead. Yugito watched in shock as he peeled away his pale skin and revealed a tanner one with the same green eyes.

"Kakuzu," He said. "Kakuzu of the Akatsuki."


	13. Chapter 13

_ This chapter took way too long to upload! Ugh! I was thinking about making another Naruto story and I was planning it. Besides I had to go back and forth from my college and then I had recitals and concerts and trips and all this stuff crammed into two weeks!_

Naruto's POV

Naruto put his arm around Hinata neck and let her trembling head rest against his shoulder. She hadn't responded to anything Naruto had said. She just kept staring at Kiba and crying silently.

"Hinata, Sakura's helping him. He'll be okay." Naruto tried to comfort her. She didn't say a word. Naruto wrapped his arms around her and tried to squeeze her out of this trance. He felt like the most helpless person in the world. He had no power. He could do nothing. Not for Kiba or Akamaru, no for Hinata, not even for Sai.

_Sai._ Naruto's mind repeated. Naruto turned and looked behind him where Sai was struggling to get to his feet and looking over at Naruto. He seemed more beat up then he was last time Naruto had seen him. Blood was leaking down from his mouth and there were several bruises and scrapes on his skin. Naruto was about to move when the ground behind Sai broke. Chunks of rock and sand flew everywhere and Sai stumbled falling onto his back. Out of the hole emerged a monster. A monster Naruto had never seen before. It had Kisame's blue skin but it was more shark-like. There were three lines on his neck and three sharp fins. One on his back, and two on his arms. A long tail waved in the air behind Sai and knocked him into the forest. Naruto watched as he disappeared into the darkness.

Naruto was frozen. _It's Kisame?_ He wondered.

Kisame laughed as if he was drunk, "I'm not going back home without at least one of you jinchuuriki! Give up before I really kill the boy! I'm already done with the dog."

Kiba began to flail again, slapping Sakura's hands away from his handless arm. He got to his feet with absolute fury in his eyes. His teeth were sharper than usual and his eyes were lines.

"What did you say!?" Kiba shouted across the field.

Kisame lurched closer to Kiba, "What's wrong? Are you made because I killed your dumb mutt?"

Kiba moved at that moment. He reached into his pocket with only hand and got out three food pills. He swallowed them and immediately became faster. Naruto could barely see him as he moved toward Kisame.

"I'll kill you you bastard!" Kiba screamed as he began to twirl and spin like a dreidel. "Tsuuga!"

He charged toward Kisame with remarkable speed. Kisame put his hand up in defense and took the hit. His feet although planted in the ground slid back a few inches.

"Kiba stop! He's...he's..." Hinata suddenly screamed as she freed herself from Naruto's grasp.

Kisame with monstrous strength spread his hands apart wide. It caused Kiba to spin in the opposite direction he was going. Causing him to lose balance and control. He flipped in the air for a few seconds then crashed into the ground.

Everyone was moving now. Bee, Sakura, and Hinata were all on their feet, Naruto close behind.

Kisame bent down and grabbed Kiba's neck and lifted him into the air. He bent his arm at an angle where the tip of his fin was only a few inches from Kiba's neck.

"Let's make a deal shall we?" Kisame proposed with a grin. "I won't kill this boy if you two jinchuuriki come with me."

Naruto paused as soon as he heard it. He was at a crossroads. _Kiba's dead if I don't do something._ Naruto glanced toward Bee. _Would he follow me?_

This was all too much. He had enough to worry about already. Hinata was looking at him with wide eyes. Naruto couldn't help but wonder what was going through her head.

"LET ME GO YOU SON OF A BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU!" Kiba yelled as loud as he could.

"My patience is running thin. Come now, number eight and number nine. You wouldn't like to see what I might to do this boy." Kisame said in a low voice. His teeth looked sharper then it had been a few moments ago.

Naruto took a step. He was about to let everything go. His friends, his memories, his home. All of it would be lost. He didn't know what they'd do to him, but one was enough wasn't it? _An eye for an eye..._Naruto thought as he began to quicken the pace over to Kisame. Hinata moved and grabbed Naruto's hand.

"I...I...please don't..." Hinata whispered. The tears had began again. She couldn't get it out. But Naruto got the message.

"Hinata...I have to. It's the only way." Naruto responded placing a hand on her cheek wiping away her tears. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. At first she didn't move. Probably as shocked as everyone else was. He pulled her in closer and ran his hand through her blue hair. Something he would miss the most. Her pale face had relaxed and her tense shoulders began to loosen. Soon he felt her arms around his waist. He remembered how she was so shy and weird when he had first met her. When she was just a little shadow. He thought about the young girl blushing just to give him some ointment. He remembered how valiantly she'd fought against Neji. Even if she lost Naruto learned she was more than she made it out to be. She had gotten this far because of Naruto, she'd made that clear. She'd made a last stand against Pain. Naruto had been too relieved that she had survived. He was almost certain she had died. He couldn't bear to let her go again.

But he had to.

He broke the kiss and took in a deep breath. He looked back at Sakura and Bee. The two of them stood there with a mix of curiousity, bewilderment, and sadness.

He had to go now or else he didn't think he could leave.

He turned and faced Kisame, "Let's go."

"Sorry I took you away from your girl before you could get a little crazy." Kisame laughed. Kiba was looking at Naruto with resentment. Naruto had known the wild boy long enough to know that hating Kiba was like being his best friend.

The Akatsuki let go of Kisame and hit him on the back of the head before he could do any brash movements. Kiba slumped to the ground making grunts and reaching for Naruto then lost consciousness. Kisame turned his back and began to walk in the other direction into the forest.

Then Hinata decided to strike.

Han's POV

Han felt a slap to his cheek and immediately his eyes flew open. He took in a quick breath expecting to awake to the wonderful sounds of the forest around him. All he heard was a low hum and dripping water. He looked up and saw Tumuka. She was looking down on him with disappointment.

"This is the tenth time you've lost consciousness. You've only been here for a day." Tumuka said.

Han coughed and tried to get as comfortable as he could in his chair. Tumuka let out a sigh and put her hands on her hips, "I get it, okay? You're hungry and tired. So am I. My job is to get information out of you. If I can't I'll get fired. You, my friend, have been whipped, electrocuted, cut, burnt, slapped, beaten, stabbed, and there's an even bigger list of things we can still do to you."

Han just stared at her. He barely speak. his mouth and tongue was dry and even moving was painful. His whole body felt like one big burning bruise. Tumuka had stayed right there next to him the whole night. Han just had to keep waiting...even if it took him months. He had to wait for the right moment.

"Talk! Say something!" Tumuka shouted. "At least a tear, at least a whimper! Just do something!"

Han remained quiet and stayed where he was. Tumuka made the sign of the boar and Han felt a long shock run through his body. He twitched and fell on the ground. The rocks were sharp and dug into his skin while he kept on flailing.

_ Han..._Kokuo said. Han kept his eyes shut as the lightning stopped and he was suddenly drenched by water. He opened his eyes and winced for what was to come next.

_Run the remainder of your chakra through your body, I have a plan._ She added.

Han felt the blazing rod come down on his back and curled up into a ball.

"Say a fucking word you son of a bitch!" Tumuka screamed as she brought the weapon up and down with fury.

She brought it up and Han let chakra flow and reach every part of his body. He didn't know he even had some of the chakra still in him. He yelled and the moment the blazing rod came down again Tumuka cried out in pain. Han looked in amazement as her whole body shook violently and volts of electricity shot through her body. The rod was no longer on fire and in Han's grasp. He just had to get his hands untied.

With his remaining strength he forced his hands apart and broke the rope tying them together. He grabbed the rod, his feet still chained to the floor. Tumuka was kneeling now, gasping and struggling to move to the only weapon in the room.

"NO!" She shouted as she lunged for the rod, still twitching.

Han's fingers closed around the end of the rod and moved it away from Tumuka's reach. She crashed to the ground, her hair messily laid on the dirty floor. The rod was hot and sent a great deal of pain down Han's hand and arm. But he couldn't let go.

He looked up at Tumuka who was now getting up and looking at Han with murderous intent.

"I'll talk," Han said. "And this is what I have to tell you,"

Tumuka got to her feet and charged toward Han who only smiled as she came closer to him. "Go fuck yourself."

He pointed the rod up and it impaled itself in Tumuka's chest. Blood sprayed from her mouth as her fingernails barely touched Han's cheek. She was trying to speak but no words would come out. Han finally let go of the rod and let her body slump down onto the ground. Han lay there staring at her corpse. He had done this before. He had killed again.

_It was for the best, Han. She would've have most certainly tried to get rid of you for good. _Kokuo reassured him.

_How do you know? Maybe she was like me. Bound to her own destiny, just an eternal cycle of doing one thing. Maybe all she wanted was to be free._ Han said.

_Han, you're here. Alive. In the present. There's nothing you can do anymore to help anyone other than Fu and Chomei. Find them and maybe...just maybe even you can be free._

Yagura's POV

Yagura sat in the little wooden boat chewing on a piece of bread as other larger ships passed him, their lanterns illuminating the outline of the ship and shining onto Yagura's pale face. Yagura took his hook staff and used it to row the boat a little faster. He had to get to the ports of the Kazimura village on Taro Island by nightfall. _I'll have sometime before they find that hunter's body. I have to travel as much as I can._ Yagura thought. He didn't like to think about what he had done to the hunter it was for the best, at least he'd discovered something about him.

_Zetsu..._Yagura mulled over the thought of the name he'd heard in his memory. It sounded familiar but there was no way he could surely know. Not with all these clouds in his head. But he knew he was making progress. Kazimura village had one of the most famous ports in the Land of Sea. They would keep track of who had ever entered that port and who had left. But Yagura had no clue how he was going to see that information. He was the Fourth Mizukage, on top of that every ninja in Kirigakure must be trying to hunt him down. He's not going to view those documents without running into problems.

Yagura dipped his hands in the water and splashed some on his face. Water was always refreshing for him. He didn't know why. Then again sometimes he felt that he knew nothing. Out of the blue, a large ship rang its bell and lights shined down onto Yagura's face.

"Excuse me, sir!" Someone shouted out of the light mist. He could see several figures. Yagura couldn't respond. He knew well enough that these people could be hunters in disguise.

"You do not have authority to be sailing on your ship in Taro waters! Please step out of your boat and come to us or else we will be forced to go to unnecessary measures for your arrest." The voice instructed.

Yagura only stared ahead at the beams of light for a few moments then began to weave signs. One of the men yelled and a hook attached itself to Yagura's small boat.

Yagura yelled quickly, "Wind Style: Wind Current!"

He blew out into the air a strong gust of wind that forced the ship to move forward at a fast pace just as one of the men landed on the boat. Yagura held onto one of the planks as the wind slapped his face and blew his hair around. he heard several yells and saw that the hook was still attached to the boat. Before he could get rid of it a hand closed around his leg.

"You're the jinchuuriki! The Mizukage!" A man said. There was a kunai in one of his hands and Yagura knew he planned to use it.

Yagura ducked as the man attempted to thrust the kunai at his face. He then brought it downwards attempting to stab him in the back. Yagura slammed into the man causing him to drop the kunai. For a while they wrestled. The man landing punches onto Yagura's cheek making blood drip down his face.

Then Yagura's head was balancing above the water and hot sweaty hands were closed around his neck.

"I can't allow you to live!" He shouted above the sounds of the wind and the water currents.

Yagura could barely breathe anymore. His hearing was fading and his "heart" seemed to be moving around in his body. His toes and fingers were rapidly growing numb and he couldn't move anything. _Shit._ He thought as he realized he was powerless against this guy.

All of a sudden the sounds of rough water was gone and Yagura was in the air. His metal hook staff threateningly close to him. The hands around his neck were now flailing, desperately trying to grab onto something. Yagura was too weak to even try and soften the fall. Several emotions ran through his head. Relief, wonder, joy, and most of all fright.

As his shoulder hit the hard sand he stopped feeling anything.


	14. Chapter 14

_Hola senors and senoras! I'm failing Spanish right now so I figure I'll need all the practice I can get. Anyway, gracias for reading this and hope you enjoy. Remember to review or favorite or follow the story if you like it._

Fu's POV

Fu sat on her bed staring at the metal cuffs that were on her hands. Her father was next to her pacing back and forth, biting his nails and staring at Fu.

"You have to go with them." Sejio-Ro said looking at her.

"No." Fu answered calmly.

"Are you that selfish, Fu!? That immature!? This is a matter of life or death! The Akatsuki will kill all of us. Not just this village but every one that's allied with us!" Sejio shouted. "This is anything but a little scuffle between daddy and his little girl. This is business. Whether you like it or not you're going with the Akatsuki."

"It's not fair! Not at all! You can't do this to me! You can't just control me like I'm some…some…" Fu tried to find the word. _Monster. A jinchuuriki._ She thought.

"Our villages will fall, your own people will be killed in the war and you don't care at all? Did you ever really think I was your father? Do you love your mother?"

Fu looked up into his eyes, "Don't you dare bring my mother into this! I don't give a damn about the people of this village! They never gave a damn about me! You're just some guy who took me and my mother away against our own will and expected us to love you!"

"What about you, huh?" Fu continued. "Did you ever love me like I was your real daughter? Or was I just the girl with the bijuu sealed inside of her?"

Sejio-Ro looked shocked. Fu stared at him trying to get a read on his emotions. All she saw was anger.

"You were never my daughter."

"Well hooray! I knew there was no way I could be the daughter of some maniac like you!"

"Fu don't you dare do this now. Not when I have so much to think about."

"What _is_ on your mind right now? What you'll have for your celebration party tonight? What you'll buy for that bitch from the Land of Rivers?"

This must've been the last straw because Sejio's head turned suddenly staring into Fu's. He was letting out short quick breaths and his hands were formed into fists like he was about to punch a hole in the wall. _Or in me._ Fu thought grimly.

"I have had it with you and your pitiful nonsense!" Sejio snapped. "I only married your stupid mother and took you as my daughter so that there could be a vessel for Seven-Tails. You're not my daughter; you are my weapon and the only thing that will keep me and this foolish little village alive! So shut your mouth and listen." Sejio spat. He ended it with a backhand to Fu's cheek. Fu hit the floor, landing on her knees.

"The Akatsuki are coming at sundown for you and you better be ready for them. None of your shenanigans or your whining. This has been your destiny from the day you and your mother were excepted into my family! You can't change what's about to come, Fu." Sejio continued, "The Akatsuki will hunt you down even if you escape. They might burn this tree and kill me but with my last breath I will curse you and they will find you. I know they will."

Sejio turned and walked out of the room, slamming the bedroom door behind him. Fu sat there looking at the ground hopelessly. She couldn't believe what had just come out of the man's mouth. All her life her "father" had always remained calm and collected no matter what the situation. Now here he had just been, yelling at the top of his lungs at her about her fate and the truth. Fu felt a hot tear run down her cheek. She couldn't help it. All the pain and suffering she'd been holding in. The sadness and anger was being released in a cascade of tears.

But wasn't enough. Fu felt something welling up in her chest. An enormous amount of loathing for the village she once loved. The life she once had. Now it was all about to be gone. Whisked away into the wind never to be recovered.

All because of Sejio-Ro.

Fu began to thrash around, screaming and crying uncontrollably. She stomped and banged on the walls making dents and snapping planks. She took her bed sheets and began to rip them up as much as she could. She threw the sheets and pillows around causing feathers to fly into the air. She took the lamp on her nightstand and threw it on the ground. The glass shattering and cutting Fu. She then picked up the nightstand and threw it at the door expecting it to burst open. All she heard was a snapping sound and a thud. She turned and saw that the entrance had been blocked by a wall of rock.

Fu grew even more frustrated. She ran to the wall of rock and began to pound and kick and scratch at it hoping she could break it and free herself. From everything. But it was impossible. She was stuck here. She would be until anyone said otherwise.

_Please calm down, Fu._ Chomei said in the back of her mind as she slumped down, her back against the wall.

_Why? Why? Why? _Fu asked him.

_I...don't know. I should've expected this would happen. I should've done something._ Chomei answered.

_I just want to leave. I want to fly away into the sky and never come back. The world is just a terrible place._

_Well, we have until sundown. So what are you going to do? Find a way out of here?_

_ Useless. They probably have the place locked down with tight security. _

_ Let me get this straight...YOU specifically are going to give up and wait for your death?_

_What do you want me to do!? I'm not letting you have control again, the last time I did that I ended up here. _

_But you were alive weren't you?_

Fu remained silent. She had nothing more to say to him. There was no point anyway, they would die together and the Akatsuki would have their seventh tailed monster and can live happily ever after. Fu laughed.

"Happily ever after," She remarked. The tears began to fall again, "Like it even exists."

Roshi's POV

Roshi panted, running through the forest trying to get his bearings. He skidded to a stop as branches covered in black flames fell from the trees and blocked his path. He'd been running nonstop all night trying to escape but it was as if the fire was literally trying to kill him. No matter where he turned or what he did the flames were right there on his heels. Roshi still heard shouts and cries of pain from somewhere deeper in the forest but he had no time to worry about it. There were other pressing matters.

He broke into a sprint, jumping over fallen logs and making turns where ever he could. The fire was spreading over the area and without a doubt was noticeable. Why wasn't anyone coming to the rescue? Roshi stopped when he heard the bloodcurdling scream. It was high pitched, undoubtedly a woman's and it rang throughout the forest and stinging his ears. Roshi stopped flinching.

A big mistake.

He barely noticed the blazing tree cracking and falling down, smothering him completely.

Utakata's POV

"Don't you ever come back here again!" Hotaru's father screamed loudly. Utakata could see the veins popping out of his forehead and the hot breath that was escaping his nose. Utakata couldn't even bat an eye. He kept looking at Hotaru. The girl was hugging her feet in the corner, maids rushing around her to help her. He couldn't help but notice her shivering.

"I want you gone, now!" Hotaru's father screamed, snapping Utakata's gaze back on his face.

"I understand, sir. But may I have something for the road ahead?" Utakata pleaded.

The man's face grew even more upset, "After all you've done to my daughter, you expect me to give you items for your journey home!? If you want to know, I'm hoping you die of starvation!"

Utakata looked at the ground. He let out a deep sigh and reached at his side for his bubble blower, realizing he had none.

"What are you waiting for? An eagle to swoop down and rescue you? Leave this place now or I will make you." The man said, even more menacing then last time.

Gyoja laughed and put a wide grin on his mouth. Utakata wished he could slap it right off. Utakata turned around and began to walk away, his feet crunching the dry grass underneath him.

"Leave you stupid jinchuuriki! And never come back or else!" Gyoja shouted after him.

Utakata stopped walking. A powerful feeling swept through him. Something that made him aggravated and like he wasn't even in his own body. He raised his hands looking at them. They were slimy, like they were melting into a pile of lumpy oatmeal. He began to run as fast as his slimy legs would take him. _What's happening?_ He wondered fearfully as sped up, tripping and hurting himself repeatedly. His wounds from the battle before was almost fully healed. But there still was no time to rest. _It's trying to come out..._Utakata realized as his stomach began to pain him immensely. He suddenly stopped when he felt a twitch run through his body and fell to the ground, knocking his head on a tree. He slowly crawled the rest of the way, making through the forest until he smelled something terrible. He went a little further and saw what he was smelling.

A graveyard of smoking bodies, still covered in acid slime.


	15. Chapter 15

_ I am now following a strict update schedule. (took me this long?) I upload on Mondays and possibly Saturday. Thanks for reading this still though and hope you enjoy this chapter!_

Yugito's POV

Yugito realized with satisfaction that the snow was beginning to stop. The shouts behind her were fading and it seemed she might actually live through this.

_Do you feel them Matatabi? Are they close? _Yugito asked.

_Yes. But they are far behind, if you keep moving you should lose them._ Matatabi replied.

_Good._

She had time on her hands then. She let the pack sling off her shoulder and dug through it searching for her dried food. She found a pack of dried beef and ripped it open, she raised it above her head and let the contents slide into her mouth. _Running, running, running. I thought I was done with this when Kumo finally made me a jonin._ Yugito thought with frustration. She'd been running all night from the Akatsuki and Shimogakure ninja. Kakuzu had found her and Yugito could barely escape. The tentacles came back but this time, she wasn't his only target. He kept grabbing other people in the restaurant. Children, elders, adults. Some of them got away. But the others didn't last long. Yugito shivered at the thought. _Are they still chasing me?_ She wondered looking into the snow-covered forest behind her.

She got up after finishing her water bottle and stuffed the garbage back into her pack. She broke into a sprint, avoiding twigs and trees. Eventually the snow stopped falling and the last remainder of snow had disappeared from the ground. Yugito collapsed on the dirt, bone-tired. She was in a tiny clearing where there were little trees. There were almost no leaves on the ground, a sign she was getting closer to Konoha. The idea excited her. She didn't know what time it was but the sun was high in the air. It was still the beginning of December. _The tenth? Or the ninth?_ She wondered. Cool breezes touched Yugito's sweaty skin and calmed her as she looked up at the sky. It was clear and blue, as usual. Not a cloud in the sky. _It wouldn't hurt to relax for a while right?_ She told herself.

Her eyelids slowly closed over her eyes creating a soothing darkness she longed to stay in forever.

And all of a sudden they snapped open. She looked behind her into the forest. Yugito got to her feet, extending her nails suddenly aware of another presence.

"Don't move." A voice said. Yugito looked to her right and saw nothing but a shiny sharp piece of metal with a blue aura emanating from it. She looked the man over. He was completely dressed in armor with a mask that resembled some sort of horned animal. It looked like a gas mask. Yugito lifted her hands preparing to fight back but with one quick slice her sharp nails had been cut off, leaving normal, blunt ones.

"Like I said, don't move." He said again moving his sword closer to her neck.

Yugito was sure of it now. _He's a samurai._ She thought.

Naruto's POV

"Naruto," Sakura called, knocking on his door again.

"Go away." Naruto said, his head still on his pillow. He hadn't moved from this spot since last night and he wasn't planning to.

"You can't hide in their forever. Sooner or later you're going to have to face this." She said, this time pounding on the door.

Naruto threw the sheets off of himself. He stumbled to the bathroom feeling sicker than he ever felt before. He hunched over the sink, looking at himself in the mirror. His eyes were half-closed and there were shadows under them. His stomach grumbled in hunger. He looked at his nightstand, a bowl of ramen sitting there from the night before.

He turned away quickly, feeling even more sick. His eyes were watering, making everything blurry. He quickly wiped them away and left the bathroom, walking to the front door. Sakura was still pounding away. His hand closed around the doorknob and he swung it open.

She stood there, her hand raised in the air. It relaxed itself and dropped to her side, "Naruto..."

"What do you want, Sakura?" Naruto asked grimly.

"It...it's time. Everyone's there, they're gonna start it soon. Are you coming?"

"I don't know if I can."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't go there. It'll be too much. Especially when it's all my fault. Everything. I can't look people in the eye with this cloud over my head."

"If you keep thinking like that then it will be your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. She chose to do this. It was her decision. She only wanted to protect the boy she loved."

Sakura stared into Naruto's eyes. Her eyebrows were angled to show her anger. Naruto couldn't take it anymore, "Sakura, what do you want me to do!? Do you understand what I'm saying? I _can't _do it. I won't. If I do, I'll end up in a darker pit then I'm already in. I get it, you're trying to help me, but I don't _want_ your help. You don't understand, you never will. So leave me alone!"

Naruto slammed the door shut before Sakura could say anything more. He flipped the switch on the wall and the lights came on. His kitchen was a mess. Books and scrolls about ninjutsu and other things were spread across the table. A cup of tea and cake was on the kitchen counter. As were bags full of groceries he never put away. There were papers and pictures scattered across the floor that constantly annoyed Naruto and gave him paper cuts.

But it was as if none of them were there. His mind was elsewhere. In his mind he could hear her scream and Kisame's laugh. He saw himself running into the forest after the monster and then on top of the rapper named Bee. Punching his face and screaming aloud.

Naruto walked to his bedroom and opened his dresser, pulling out black sweatshirt and his black plaid pants. He put them on and then left his apartment, walking down the stairs and leaving the lobby without saying a thing. As he walked down the road he noticed little people were out today. A lot of shops were closed and had drapes around them so you couldn't see anything. The sun was shining down onto the world, bathing it in light. _It looks happy._ He thought. _Almost._ His legs kept on moving, down the path. The destination in his mind was clear, and it brought tears to his eyes.

Without even noticing, Naruto stopped when he hit someone's back. He was brought from his thoughts as he looked up from the ground. It was Neji. The breath went out of Naruto immediately and his hands went out of his pockets. He tried to say something but only grunts came out. Neji stared at Naruto, sorrow in his eyes.

A hand placed itself on Naruto's shoulder sending a chill down his spine. But it was only Lee.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" He asked.

"Could be better." Naruto mumbled in response.

"Naruto, I suggest you keep your distance from the Hyuga Clan for a while. Hiashi won't want you around here for a while." Neji advised. "They're not happy that you let her perish during that battle."

Naruto's features relaxed and he let out a sigh, "Neji...you're not mad at me?"

Neji closed his eyes, "As much as I feel like I should be angry. I understand that it's not your fault. Sometimes we think we have the power to save those we love, but you never really know do you?"

Naruto nodded not wishing to go any further into this conversation, "Do you know what happened to the other guy, Bee?"

"Bee?" Neji wondered

"He's the guy who lead Kisame toward the village and..." Naruto stopped himself from going any further. The tears might come again.

"Interrogation Corps are dealing with him. My uncle said that until he talks, they're not letting him go." Neji explained.

"I'm sure he'll explain himself, Naruto." Lee consoled. Naruto shook off his hand and walked away.

"I hope." Naruto said as he walked toward the growing crowd. Several people dressed in black stood in rows, one behind the other, looking at the center. He spotted several people he knew, Kakashi, Shino, Shikamaru, Choji. They all were here. Well, everyone except Sai. But no one knew where he was, several search parties had gone out to find him. Most of them from Danzo's organization.

Naruto slipped into one of the rows, standing beside Shino. His hood was hiding his face and you could barely see him. He turned and noticed Naruto standing there.

"I wondered if you were coming." He said.

"I thought you would stay at home." Naruto replied.

"I can't. As much as I felt it was necessary for me to stay behind...I couldn't."

"Yeah, I thought that too."

"I owe it to her. I should've been faster but I wasn't. Now Kiba's in the hospital, Akamaru and Hinata are dead, and Sai is nowhere to be found."

"You can't blame yourself, Shino. You're not responsible. You didn't know what was going on. If there's anyone to blame it would be me."

Shino looked straight ahead through his dark glasses and smiled, "You always know how to help. It's an admirable trait. Something Hinata saw in you more than anyone else did."

Naruto stuck his eyes to the ground as he watched a drip of water fall onto the ground. He moved away from Shino, going closer to the center where undoubtedly the body would be. _Can I look him in the eye? Can I look at her? _Naruto wondered as he got closer. His heart felt like it was being squished against his spine and his ribs. His nausea got worse and his throat began to tighten.

And then he could see.

She looked like she was in a deep sleep. Her hair combed perfectly which acted like a pillow on her back. Her eyes were closed but her chest wasn't rising. She was wearing a white robe that was half black and half white, the symbol of the Hyuga Clan. Her hands were crossed together on her chest and the damage she had sustained in the battle were invisible.

_Peaceful, she looks peaceful._ Naruto thought as he looked at Hinata. Tears were still flowing down his face continuously and showed no signs of stopping. He didn't care. To his right he could see a woman crying. She had the same blue hair as Hinata but her face was filled with uncontrollable sadness. Next to her was Hiashi Hyuga. He looked at Naruto, resentment in his eyes. It seemed like he was wondering what Naruto would do next. Naruto took his focus back to Hinata. He thought about Sasuke, how it seemed a veil of darkness and revenge had surrounded him. This was why he chose to follow the path he did. All because of his dead clan.

"Hinata," He said. "I swear, I will hunt down Kisame Hoshigaki and kill him. If I can't do that, then I don't deserve to be Hokage."

Han's POV

"This sucks. I'm tired." One of the guards said, yawning.

"Don't be so down. This job is great! I mean think about it, we're being told to guard a prisoner. What if he's someone important? We'll be the guys who kept him in line." The other guard said, sounding ecstatic.

"Yeah but Tumuka will get all the credit like she always does. That bitch is evil, I tell ya." The first guard said.

"Maybe your right. But still, at least people we know will always remember who we were!"

Han walked up to them as quietly as he could. The injuries he got caused him to be weaker and breathe out more heavily but he tried to keep himself as steady and calm as he could. He then rushed up to the first guard and closed his hands around his neck. He squeezed, crushing it and ending the guards life. He dropped him and looked at the other guard. All his excitement had drained away, becoming fear.

"How do I get out of here?" Han asked.

"I...I..." The guard tried to say. Han sighed and picked him up by the collar, the sword he was holding fell to the ground.

"How do I get out of here?" He repeated, sounding more serious.

"T-take a right! Then he have to go straight and keep making lefts! Then there'll be a whole crowd of guys like me you have to get through. But the exit will lead into the village." The guard quickly said.

"What can I take to _avoid_ the guards?" Han questioned.

"I don't know! I'm only a guard. I have a wife and kids! Don't do this man, please!"

Han brought his face closer to his, staring deep into his eyes, "Say again?"

"The filter system! Take the filter system okay!? If you just go straight and take a left you'll get to the filter system where we purify all of our water. It's then cycled throughout the village and goes into the tree. If you go through one of the exit pipes then it'll lead you right into the village! Now please let me go!"

The guard was crying and taking quick breaths. Han punched the guard in the gut and dropped him. He slumped over, unconscious. Han looked straight ahead. There was a hall he could take that lead to a left turn. Several doors were on the rock walls, howls and shouts were coming from inside. Han looked at one of the signs on the wall. _Prison Cells and Interrogation Room. _He thought. He looked at the doors and had an insane idea.

Han looked at the doors and chuckled, "Why don't I bring some friends along with me?"

Gaara's POV

Gaara groaned, holding his pounding head and looking around. His vision was blurry but it cleared in seconds. He was lying on the ground in a dark cave. Some sort of statue was in the cave, it's hands rose from the ground while it's mouth was open wide. He got to his feet, feeling sick and pained all over. He remembered fighting the Akatsuki member Deidara but everything else was a blur.

"He's awake. Deidara, I thought you said he was half-dead." A voice said.

"I did! I mean...he's supposed to be. When I found him he barely had a pulse so I just carried him here. What did you want me to do, hm!?"

"We can't begin the reverse sealing unless he's unconscious. If he's alive it'll be harder to retrieve Shukaku."

Gaara was immediately alert. He got to his feet realizing his gourd was gone. But Gaara wasn't defenseless at least. Whoever was there, they were planning to steal Shukaku from him. The thought of being freed from Shukaku was insane. He couldn't see it happening. _After all those years of pain I am Kazekage. I could be free of this monster once and for all and not have to worry about losing control or anything._ He thought. _A simple choice._

"Hm? It looks like the Kazekage is going to attack." Deidara said.

"He won't. I see the look on your face, One-Tail. If you let us take care of you, then you won't ever have to worry about this monster inside of you again." The other voice said seductively. "Just lay down and sleep. Then it'll all be over."

Gaara gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.

With confidence, he spoke, "No. I will not give him up to the likes of you. Not even he deserves to be in the care of you ruthless people."

Two shapes moved in the darkness, coming toward him. He could finally see them. Deidara was smiling, his blonde hair leaning back and no longer in a ponytail. His eyes were wild and filled with curiousity. His partner on the other hand Gaara recognized immediately. His straight red hair and emotionless expression was something Kankuro talked about repeatedly.

"You're Sasori of the Red Sand." Gaara said.

"So you know about me, huh. I'd expect no less of the Kazekage." Sasori responded. He rolled his sleeve down revealing strange markings. He smiled when he tapped it. A plume of smoke erupted from his arm, Deidara stepping away.

"I'll let Sasori take the stage this time. Just call me if you need me, my man." Deidara said.

Blue strings suddenly shot from Sasori's fingers and connected with some sort of puppet that was still hidden in the smoke.

As it cleared Gaara took in what he was seeing. Sasori had made a copy of the Third Kazekage in puppet form. It's spiky black hair reached its shoulders where a brown cloak covered the rest of his body.

"Are you ready to be beaten by your own predecessor, jinchuuriki?" Sasori laughed. "This ought to be fun."


	16. Chapter 16

_ Sorry I take so long to update, life can be like that super-attached girlfriend that won't let you go. Also, someone made a comment on my last chapter about the timeline and other things. For Gaara, Naruto arrived in time to save him before the Ichibi was fully extracted from him. Pain did come to capture the Nine-Tails but failed, you know that saga. The confrontation with Nagato and Rinne Rebirth and all that. If your disappointed by the weakness of these jinchuuriki I'm keeping things a bit low-key until further in the story. Thanks for reviewing and liking the story!_

Bee's POV

"You're a Kumo shinobi right?" Mr. Morino said looked at Bee.

"Yes, I already told you, _bro!_ Mind if you let me _go?_" Bee sang. Mr. Morino only rolled his eyes.

"Listen, I don't have time for your games. This is serious business. You're either going to tell us why you're here or we'll force it from you." The interrogator continued. Bee debated whether to tell him who he was or why he was here.

_The whole point of coming here was to get help. You're not going to get any by keeping your mouth shut, Bee._ Gyuki pointed out.

_I know, I know. Big Bro's gonna be mad, that'll be really bad!_ Bee replied.

_Who cares about the Raikage? Right now your ass is about to be tortured. You better do something. _

Bee just folded his hands behind his head and propped his legs on the metal table in front of him. Mr. Morino looked much more annoyed.

"Fine, I'll tell you why I'm here. You aren't gonna like it very much but, hey, you asked." Bee said.

Mr. Morino finally looked satisfied, "I'm glad you decided to take the right path."

Bee began, "I'm a Kumo shinobi if you haven't noticed, I ran away because...well...it's hard. My big brother always keeps me on a short leash and sometimes I just wanna be free you know?"

"Slow down, let's start from your name and who you are. Occupation, family, that sort of stuff." Mr. Morino interrupted.

Bee smiled, "I am the rappin' _Killer Bee_, Eight-Tails dat be _me_ to the third _degree!"_

Mr. Morino's expression changed to one of boredom, to one of shock, "What!?"

"I'm the host of the Eight-_Tails_, the Akatsuki were chasin' me so I had to _bail._" Bee explained.

"Tonbo, send word to the Hokage. She needs to know this." Mr. Morino said to one of the guys standing in the corner of the room. His eyes and forehead were covered in bandages making Bee wonder how he could see.

"A-about that, sir. It seems that Danzo has returned to the village."

"You gotta be kidding me." Mr. Morino said, getting up. He looked at Bee, his scars already making him seem serious, "You need to stay here. I have to go talk to some people."

"I ain't going nowhere." Bee shrugged.

The man left the room, his boots hitting the floor got more and more fainter until Bee could no longer hear it. Tonbo and another guy was still in the room watching him closely, but they made no attempt to get any information out of him.

"If I may ask," Tonbo said, breaking the silence, "Who is your brother?"

"Oh, uh..." Bee tried to figure out a way to say this is the softest way possible.

And then Gyuki spoke, _Bee don't tell them. Anything else might make Konohagakure make some deals with Kumogakure in exchange for your life. _

Bee suddenly took his legs off the desk, irritated, _You just told me to tell them who I was!_

_ I told you to get help from them. The only way to do that would be to tell about the Akatsuki chasing you, dumbass._

"Ugh!" Bee grunted, kicking the desk over. Tonbo jumped and grabbed a kunai from the pouch on his leg.

"Whoa! I just got mad for a sec, no need to pull out any weapons." Bee comforted.

"I don't trust you. You're from Kumo and we're not buddy, buddy with them." Tonbo said.

The other guy began to speak, "Calm yourself, Tonbo. He's probably a little jumpy. He's in captivity anyway."

_Jumpy, _Bee thought. He looked up at the ceiling. It was made of stone with little cracks in it. The light dangled above, illuminating the whole room. _If I sprout at least six tails can I break through? _He wondered.

"What are you doing?" Tonbo asked.

Bee examined the cuffs on his arms, they were made of strong iron that pure strength couldn't pry apart. Bee couldn't summon any chakra so he guessed they stopped any utilization of jutsu. Chakra cloaks or chakra skins won't work effectively.

"I need to pee." Bee said. _Bathrooms might work. If I can get out of this room I could easily escape._ Bee thought. "Please."

"No," The other guy said, crossing his arms. His brown hair had bangs that covered his eyes and his mouth remained the same. Expressions were impossible to see in these guys.

"But I don't wanna make a mess. I've had to go ever since that shark guy of the Akatsuki was hunting me." Bee explained. "He uses water-style and that didn't help my bladder at all."

Tonbo frowned, "You don't have to be so descriptive."

"_Please_. I'm gonna explode soon. I need to go." Bee said.

"Fine! You can go to the bathroom! Get up." The other one said throwing his hands up into the air. Bee got up quickly and shuffled over to the hallway.

"You know, I'm gonna need some help..." Bee informed.

"Why?" Tonbo asked. Then his gaze fell onto the cuffs. "Oh dear God no."

"You're doing it, Tonbo."

"No! You're the one who let him go, Shimon."

And then Bee moved. He figured now was a better time than any. He jumped over Tonbo's head and brought the chain between his cuffs down on his throat. The man grasped at the chain then at Bee's face, his kunai on the ground. Shimon brought out two shuriken and threw them, aiming for Bee's face. He dropped to the ground, landing on his back and then used his legs to throw Tonbo onto Shimon. The man had brought out a kunai and was preparing to stab Bee, but the kunai found itself lodged in Tonbo's side, who was screaming at this point.

Bee grabbed the kunai which was a few feet away from his and used it to break the chain between his cuffs. It broke easily. Shimon got up, throwing Tonbo off of him and getting to his feet. He flew at Bee, his arm reared back. Bee ducked, the punch missing and leaving Shimon open. He used his leg to kick upwards into Shimon's chin causing him to fly backwards, hitting his head on the wall.

Bee watched as the ninja slumped over, silent. Tonbo was still whimpering and grasping at the kunai in his side.

"Sorry," Bee said. "I don't wanna overstay my welcome."

Yagura's POV

Yagura rose to his feet, expecting a million ninja to be surrounding him, ready to attack, but other than for a few bodies, he was alone. His hook staff was lodged into the sand about twenty feet away from him. A body was lying on the top, obviously dead. He'd been impaled by the hook in his chest and wasn't getting out of that.

He got to his feet and stretched his exhausted bones. _I am Yagura, _He reminded himself, _I am hunting down the man who controlled me, nothing will stop me._ Yagura took a step toward his staff and a jolt of pain shot through his body making him immediately fall into the wet sand again. He remembered landing onto his back after the boat was destroyed but he didn't know it would be this bad.

He ended up crawling to his only weapon and barely managing to pull it out from the ground. He looked around at the beach. _How many people attacked me?_ Yagura thought as he counted the bodies. They were all hunter ninja, Yagura could tell that much. But their clothing differed. Most of these guys wore sleeveless jackets over a t-shirt with baggy pants and hiking boots. One or two of them had a blue chest guard with a black shirt underneath and blue arm and leg warmers. It reminded Yagura of a meeting he once had with the council of Kirigakure. It was vague but a lot of the bodyguards wore this stuff.

"There he is!" A shout broke through the silence and Yagura's thoughts. His head snapped up, his eyes wide. A ship was making its way closer to the beach. The fog was almost completely gone and you could easily see its figure coming rapidly close.

Yagura with some difficulty got to his feet, his back aching even more. _Shit!_ He thought as he heard feet hitting the ground.

"Don't let him get away! Circle around and enter the forest! Cut him off!" One of the ninja yelled.

Yagura took his hook staff and planted the blunt end in the sand. He pressed his two hands together, summoning chakra.

"Water Style: Rising Coral Ripples!" He yelled.

Pink corals rose from the sand spreading across the beach and stopping many ninja in the tracks. A few of them were smart enough to jump into the air and they began to throw shuriken and kunai at him.

Yagura raised his staff above his head, deflecting most of the weaponry. He then ran a little bit further and entered the forest, hoping it would hide him better. He heard yells and commands through the air ordering men to surround him and kill him and capture him. Another wave of pain shot through Yagura as he collapsed again. This time finding it even harder to get to his feet.

A hand closed around his throat, lifting him into the air. Yagura's hands held onto the attacker, his nails scratching them.

"I got him!" They screamed.

Yagura flailed even more, his legs trying to connect with something. He was begging for air at this point. Darkness rimmed his eyesight and his head was pounding, a loud sound ringed in his ears making him unable to hear anything else. His hands fell to his sides and his legs stopped moving.

_I'm done. I'm going to die._ Yagura thought. _He's going to kill me._

_Let me help you, Yagura. _A voice that was all too familiar said in his mind.

_No...I..._ Yagura responded as his eyes shut. _I can't die now._

Roshi's POV

The smell of smoke had stopped. To Roshi, that was a good thing. Now he knew those Uchiha boys were far behind him. The further the better. Based on the warm weather and the cloudless orange, pinkish sky. He figured he'd arrived at Konoha around sunset. He walked along a grassy plain, weeds and flowers hidden among the tall grass. _Should be a full moon tonight. _Roshi thought.

His stomach grumbled and his throat dried even more when he thought about his missing pack. He'd had to ditch in the forest since it caught on fire. But now it was almost unbearable. The thought of food and water was overwhelming and made him long for shelter. To be back home with his wife and son. He began to question why he even came.

And then he thought of the Akatsuki, who were probably gloating from a distance as they plotted war. It made Roshi sick, and most of all motivated to continue walking. He'd spoken to Son Goku earlier, the conversation hadn't went well but Roshi got the information he needed. Nine-Tails and Eight-Tails were in Konoha somewhere. He just had to find them.

_This is a foolish quest Roshi, _Son Goku spoke, cutting through Roshi's thoughts like a knife through hot butter.

_I don't care. The world might depend on it. _I said back.

_You're a fool! You think the jinchuuriki are likely to cooperate with a forty five year old man? It's impossible. My brothers and sisters can be like cats and dogs. We don't go together. _

_ But all our power combined would be unimaginable wouldn't it? Think of how we could help people! _

_ All you would do is put fear in their hearts. No matter how hard you or me try, society will never truly except us. We're monsters in their eyes. Weapons to be utilized at others, not them. They won't let you round up these jinchuuriki._

Roshi was beginning to grow angry, he hated anyone who tried to put him down. He wasn't the type of person to succumb to what everyone thought of him.

_This...is my own job. My own duty I entrusted to myself. Whether or not your with me, Son, _I said calmly, _I will stop the Akatsuki._


	17. Chapter 17

_OH MY GOD. Fanfiction has been giving me problems for the last three days! I only uploaded chapter 16 today and I'm going to upload this one either on Saturday or next week. I'm literally so pissed right now. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me and hope you like this chapter. I'm also going to start writing in first person. I don't know if it really makes a difference but tell me if you like it or not. :)_

Fu's POV

A fist banged on the door rousing me from my trance. My stomach rumbled and my dry tongue licked the roof of my mouth, hoping to feel some sort of moisture. I watched in silence as a man blew his way through the door and into the room with me, pieces of rocks flying everywhere. A little light of hope went through my body as I hoped that Han, in his red armor, would come to the rescue.

It quickly disappeared when I saw Sejio-Ro enter the room, two ninja by his side. Sejio-Ro looked annoyed and imperfect. His hair which was normally slicked back, only a lock out of place, was now more fuzzy and untidy. His nose was twitching and he kept biting his lip as if something was wrong. His long golden robe which covered most of his body moved towards me.

"Get up." He said.

I spit onto his robe. He reached down and grabbed me by the throat. It was obvious he wasn't in the mood to play around again today.

"I said, _get up._" He slowly repeated menacingly. "I can't wait to be rid of you and your only making things much more tedious for me."

I didn't even bother responding. I was drained of energy and hopelessness weighed me down like cement on my shoulders. He picked me up effortlessly and guided me out the door.

_Fu, _Chomei said. I remained silent.

_Are you really just giving up? I'll lend you some energy, do something! _Chomei shouted.

_No! I'm done. I just want this to be over. _I retorted, enraged by everything that was happening. Why was it me? I looked at the man I once called my father and I felt a boiling anger rising up inside of me. It's _his _fault. He's the one that did this to me. He chose my mother and made me a jinchuuriki. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him.

His grip tightened on my wrist and he pulled me ahead, quickening his pace. I felt like screaming and thrashing about, his touch was like a poisonous claw that kept on making wounds. Each one deeper then the last.

_ I'm here, Fu. Your one of the best humans I've been with since years ago. I'm not giving up so soon, you shouldn't either. _Chomei said.

It was now or never. We were nearing the entrance to the palace and the Akatsuki would be waiting for me. With big ugly grins planted on their faces.

"Fu!" A voice cuts through my thoughts and sinks itself into my ears. "Don't you take her away from me, Sejio! Please!"

My mother called out to me from the top of the stairs we were descending. Tears were streaming down her face and she began to climb down the stairs. I could do nothing but watch as she screamed and cried out to me. I was dumbstruck, suddenly here was my one mother, running towards me as I got farther away. It was in her minty green eyes that I saw sorrow, fear, and love unlike any other.

Love for me.

And as I exited the stair case and disappeared into the hallway, she disappeared in a plume of smoke. I heard her scream one last time and the sounds of men grunting. Then there was silence.

"Stop stumbling, Fu. At least look proud to be sacrificing yourself for your village." Sejio-Ro complained.

"_I _didn't sacrifice myself for anything. Everything I'm doing right now is forced. Forced by you." I said, finding the words suddenly pouring out of me now.

"You should be grateful. I gave you power."

"Fuck you. All you gave me was a lonely, terrible fate to die by the hands of people I don't even know."

Sejio-Ro stopped moving. The other two ninja paused, staring at him with curiousity and fear. But then the smell of smoke and fire reached my nose. I stopped breathing and Sejio-Ro turned, suddenly running to the front door and crashing through it. The ninja were unsure of what to do and I could only run beside me father and watch.

The great tree of Takigakure that stood since the days of the Sage of Six Paths was on fire.

Utakata's POV

I watched the boy sit up, his purple pinkish eyes looking at the world with confusion then fear and shock. He looked at me once then at Hotaru. His hands went to his back as if he was looking for a weapon. Nothing was there.

"Don't bother trying to find your stuff. I took it away." I explained. He stopped panicking and looked at me angrily.

"Who are you!? I'm very dangerous and I will kill you." He threatened.

"You aren't very scary-looking if you ask me." Hotaru said. Wringing a rag over a bucket of water. She at least spoke to me now instead of avoiding conversation but after the stunt I pulled on the beach, I expected it. I still wondered why she came to me trying to join me on my adventure.

"Let's be polite, Hotaru." I warned, looking back at the boy.

"You answer our questions first, since we did save you from being captured and possibly dying." I added. The boy only stared at the ground, hugging his legs.

"I...fine. But then you give me my stuff and I'm leaving." He said. His eyes darted back and forth between me and Hotaru. His mouth bended at the ends in a frown and he seemed to be on his guard. I could understand, it's not like he knew us.

"When we rescued you, hunter-ninja were practically about to kill you. Do you mind explaining that?" I asked.

The boy grunted, "It's...a long story. I'd rather not answer."

Hotaru grinned, "Then you're not getting any of your stuff back. Maybe I could even use your hook thingy. Makes a good mirror if you don't mind me saying."

"Alright! I...I don't remember much okay? Everything's pretty hazy but they were hunting me because I'm valuable to the Land of Mist. I was the previous Mizukage."

At first, my eyes widened and I immediately thought this boy was lying. But what reason did he have to? The whole entire forest was packed with hunter-nin. Unless he's some S-rank criminal, there's no way that many hunters would show up.

"I thought you looked familiar. My dad told me that the Mizukage had escaped Kirigakure and several hunter-nin had been deployed to capture and bring him back." Hotaru commented. "Not to mention your picture is all over my village."

"But who's the Fifth Mizukage?" I questioned.

"Some chick named Mei Terumi." Hotaru answered.

I turned back to the previous Mizukage sitting on the floor in front of me. Orange sunlight lit the shack we were in. We had no idea if any of the hunter-nin were still after us, not to mention by now Hotaru's clan must have noticed her absence and sent someone to find her. The best we could do was hide in a ratty old wooden house with the roof caving in and illuminating certain parts of it. We were pretty close to the sea so we could make a hasty retreat if we had to.

"I've been on trying to get as far away from Kiri as I could but it got harder and harder. They closed all the ports to any of the surrounding islands and I can't walk on water so I was stranded on the mainland. It was only today that I managed to get my hands on a boat and get away. Then I guess you saved me." He explained.

"You must be S-rank, top priority if you're the Fourth Mizukage. I heard rumors that not even you were really controlling Kirigakure. Someone from the shadows was manipulating your every move." I said.

"That's why I'm out here. I have nothing to gain from selling information to people of other lands. It's not like I remember anything. Somewhere along the line I woke up. It felt like I was in a long, long dream and only just woke up with no recollection of what I did. I was only aware of two things."

"What were they?" Hotaru asked. She had dropped the rag into the bucket of water and was listening intently beside me. Her blonde hair barely rubbing against my blue robe and her green eyes focused on the boy in front of us. I blinked as I realized I was looking at her instead of paying more attention to the boy in front of us. I was glad the darkness of the shack hid my pink cheeks.

"My name was Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage and vessel of Three-Tails." The boy said. "And I was a pawn in someone else's game."

Han's POV

The plan had went well so far. I'd had spent more time than I expected just opening the cell doors for all these prisoners. Half of them seemed delusional and unstable. Whatever Takigakure did to their prisoners must of been terrible if this was the outcome, more importantly, getting them all under control would be even harder.

"Freedom!" One sane prisoner shouted. They all yelled and began to run down the hall, excited to see daylight again. I joined them, hoping I would get the chance to escape with Fu. I had no plans to leave her behind after seeing what Sejio-Ro could do. I only wondered what his ideals were, why would he be in such a hurry to see Fu? There's no sign of love in his eyes so what could be so important about her that he had to capture her?

An image of Kokuo and the burning village flashes through my head, making me realize what's inside of Fu. She was as much of a weapon as I was to Iwagakure.

The crowd seemed to stop moving and their shouts diminished. I pushed through them, hearing a loud rushing sound that seemed like liquid.

_Water, _I thought finally emerging at the front of the crowd. A fast current pushed the water as if it was going down a waterfall. Wind smacked me hard causing my eyes to water. It seemed clean and already filtered, so it was obviously going back into the tree. I exhaled and looked downwards. There was little lighting making it hard to see but I could make out holes leading downwards. Maybe entrance to pipes? I couldn't tell but I wasn't eager to alert anyone of my escape. The element of surprise was the only advantage I had. That and this ragtag army of insane POW's and criminals.

I turned toward them and spoke, "We're going to have to jump in the water. It's the only way to get out of here without alerting guards."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Someone called out, his voice cracking several times.

"Do you want to stay here for the rest of your pathetic lives?" I asked. No one responded. "Listen, I'm not forcing you to do anything. You could have stayed in your cells for all I care. I have something I need to take care of and it's not going to get done by sitting around rotting in a little cell underneath a village. I'm leaving this god forsaken place for good. I suggest you all do the same."

There was silence for a few moments. I could tell everyone was considering whether to join me or leave.

"I'm leaving." A voice spoke up, walking toward me. A woman with olive skin and wild eyes made her way towards me and stood next to me. "They took my family away from me. They aren't going unpunished for this."

Another one came and stood by me, "I'll go to. I'd rather see the sun then some stupid stone ceiling."

Slowly they all came and joined me, giving their own reasons for leaving. Some stayed silent but joined me anyway. I guess they saw me as someone who would keep them safe. Someone who would lead them to a place that's better than this. I turned back to the water, feeling the cool wind on my chest and face. Suddenly it felt relieving and calming. As if maybe, just maybe, it would carry me to Fu.

"You won't regret this," I told them. "You won't."

I then jumped into the dark blue water, not knowing if this would be my last peaceful moment.


End file.
